Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Coffee Stories
Raw Content from Amazon’s
Mechanical Turk
Written by Best Agent Business
Coffee Stories
Raw Content from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk
Copyright Year by Best Agent Business
www.bestagentbusiness.com
steve.kantor@gmail.com
Published by Lifebushido and Best Agent Business
www.lifebushido.com – www.bestagentbusiness.com
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or
information storage and retrieval methods now
known or to be invented, without the written
permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who
wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a
review written for inclusion in an educational
publication, radio, or TV broadcast.
Printed in the United States of America.
1st Edition – June 2009
LIFEBUSHIDO VISION
Lifebushido is building a global network of people
working part‐time from home with flexible hours
using their unique talents.
Lifebushido ventures include business, creative,
and charitable/social entrepreneur projects. Join us!
Lifebushido ‐ Anything is Possible
We help our clients focus more time on using
unique talents.
We help our staff and others focus on their unique
talents.
BEST AGENT BUSINESS
SERVICES
Best Agent Business created this book, in less two
weeks, using our team of part‐time virtual assistants.
Our goal was to share some uplifting stories, stories
to warm the soul, stories of the great things that can
happen over coffee at a coffee house. Perhaps we can
warm your spirit or help you grow your business!
Are you thinking of getting your first part‐time
assistant?
Do you need to replace a part‐time or full‐time
assistant?
Are you running a top team and want to add new
market segments?
Best Agent Business can help you grow your business
and make more money. If you currently make over
$100,000 GCI per year, you should have an assistant.
We provide part‐time assistant services for marketing,
listing and closing coordination services.
How many hours a week do you spend doing
$20/hour assistant‐level tasks? If your time is worth
$50‐100/hour, how much money are you losing every
week by doing $20/hour work instead of $50‐100/hour
sales activities? We can help solve this problem – fast.
We help you delegate and outsource so you can focus
your time on your unique talents and abilities. If you
wish you had more time to sell and you wish you
could spend less time on non‐sales activities, then
Best Agent Business can help.
Best Agent Business published Billion Dollar Agent –
Lessons Learned. Billion Dollar Agent – Lessons
Learned includes the success secrets of over 50 top
real estate agents who have or will sell over $1 billion
in real estate in their career, as well as interviews with
top national coaches/trainers.
Our unique business model takes the lessons learned
from Billion Dollar Agent and applies it to agents
who make from $100,000 to $1,000,000 GCI.
A regular client effort is about 10‐15 hours per week
for about $995/month, which is about $20/hour.
Contact us today at www.bestagentbusiness.com, or
email sales@bestagentbusiness.com.
We always appreciate referrals. If you know an agent
who is looking for part‐time assistance, please
connect us to them via sales@bestagentbusiness.com.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTRIBUTIONS ............................................................................. 1
IDEAS .............................................................................................. 223
RESOURCES ................................................................................... 269
STEVE KANTOR BIOGRAPHY ............................ 271
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
What great things happen over
coffee at a coffee house?
Have you ever had something great happen over
coffee at a coffeehouse?
For example: fell in love, had a great first date,
reconnected with family/friends, changed the
direction of your life, had a brilliant idea, started a
new business, closed a sale, made a new friend, etc.
Share your story...
CONTRIBUTIONS
3
COFFEE STORIES
with Family/friends changed the direction of your life,
had a brilliant idea, started a new business, closed a
sale, made a new friend, etc. When I was having
coffee at a coffee house, the most brilliant idea struck
me. I rushed home and wrote a book. It took me
exactly two weeks. I then rushed it to a publisher who
pounced on it and called it hot stuff. The thing
became a best‐seller, and I could finally have my cool
island home and laze around doing exactly what I
wanted and letting the rest of the world go to hell.
Please donʹt believe the second paragraph. I get all
these lovely day dreams when I have coffee at my
favorite coffee house! Cheers and thanks for reading
what I wrote! One Valentines Day after my boyfriend
had gotten me addicted to Lattes, he sent me on a
treasure hunt, and one of the clues was at the coffee
house. That was 3 years ago; they still talk about it
when I come in. Itʹs nice to go Someplace and even
though they see a thousand people a day can still
remember a little something.
the best story ever in a coffee shop is when my friend
Max fell on his knees to cry in front of his girlfriend to
ask her if they can come back together because 3 days
before they broke up in the same coffee shop. It was
awesome experience.
On a crisp morning in late October, I stopped in to a
local coffee shop because I just wanted to warm up. I
started wearing glasses recently and they steamed
4
CONTRIBUTIONS
5
COFFEE STORIES
he felt about me. The two of us went to Starbucks
together and how offered to pay for mine as if it were
a date. The rest of the time we just sat at one of the
tables that had checkers peices set up and played each
other and talked. Iʹm pretty sure that it was that
occasion that cemented that we would finally start
dating each other.
We reviewed my sonʹs senior pictures at Starbucks. It
was a wonderful time of viewing his great pictures
and choosing the photos that captured his personality!
The best thing that has ever happened to me at a
coffee house is a great friendship. I frequent this
establishment to this day. The owner is this 20
something , wanna be hippie,vegan, spunky chick!She
holds open mics for bands and solo acts. My husband
the musician, and I checked it out. It was comfy and
cozy. lots of couches, and chairs. People were even
sitting on the floor. Before the band started ,wafting
around the room was this woman in a long skirt
smelling of lavendere and smiling. I donʹt mean an
ordinary smile either, more like beaming. She had
smells coming from the kitchen that drew me in.
immediately we conversed and found lots in common.
When the musicians ended, she always praised each
one. It was so peaceful and fun. It was then I wanted
to be around that kind of happiness all the time. I am
greatful for my new friend and to the coffee house.
6
CONTRIBUTIONS
There are many realizations that I have came to over
coffee at a coffeehouse. The enviornment of a
coffeehouse in combination with the sensations
involved in enjoying a good cup of coffee allows one
to relax and just sit back and take it all in. I was sitting
in a coffeehouse with a friend when I realized that
her and I had more in common than I originally
thought. We connected over coffee by just sitting back
and discussing where we were in our lives and what
our plans for the future was. It was great to connect
with someone who you thought you had nothing in
common with. Now ever so often we meet up and
enjoy our life conversations over a cup of coffee at a
coffeehoue.
I met my husband while he was working at Starbucks
and I was a customer. We began making small talk
and that led to longer conversations and finally, a
date! We got married 8 months later.
Coffee houses are usually my favorite place to grab a
cup of coffee, relax, and try to de‐stress. The best
thing that happened to me in a coffee house was I met
my current boyfriend. Every Thursday night, there is
an improv night at my favorite coffee house, and my
friends and I usually attend. A friend of a friend
brought this really cute boy, Patrick. The second I
saw him, I had a crush on him. He ordered the same
drink as I did, and that kicked off our conversation.
For some reason, a coffee house is always the perfect
7
COFFEE STORIES
catalyst to good conversation. As we talked all night,
we found out we had a lot in common, and since then,
weʹve been dating. He still takes me back to the same
coffee house for every anniversary.
Several years ago I was sitting in a cafe in Paris
reading the International Herald Tribune. Although
my French is almost good enough to pass for native,
this must have been the flag that shouted, ʺHere is an
Americanʺ. In any event, a total stranger came to sit
at my table and after an initial hesitation on my part,
we started to talk. It turned out to be a really
interesting person; an American who had spent years
doing humanitarian work for the United Nations. All
the headlines of the 1990ʹs and 2000ʹs, this guy had
been there, seen the movie, wore the t‐shirt and one
could even say had written the book. Places like
Goma, Kigali, Indonesia were more familiar to him
than his home town. We spent a few hours and
several coffees talking about his life and career and
then went our own ways. I was so buzzed, more by
the conversation, than by the coffee, that I only
remembered well after I returned to my hotel that I
had left my IHT on the table. The conversation
never really left me even after I returned to New York.
Every time I read about some new humanitarian
disaster in the papers, I looked at what I was doing in
the finance management company for which I was
working and asked myself why. Why slowly
transformed itself into the question how. Almost a
8
CONTRIBUTIONS
9
COFFEE STORIES
10
CONTRIBUTIONS
introduction that can easily catch the attention of the
readers. In a matter of minutes, he simply stood up
and went close to me, asking if the extra seat was
taken. Honestly, i said no. So he sat down and asked
about what i was doing because he said my face looks
kind of in a worried about something. I told him the
story, and we were talking endlessly then. I found out
that heʹs a biologist himself, and heʹs very eager to
help me with my article. I made interviews, and at the
same time, getting to know a lot about each other. At
the end of the day, in the coffee shop, i garnered hell
of a lot of ideas for my article, and was eager to make
a final draft on my laptop. The day was very fruitful,
and the guy that i met became a very close friend of
mine until now. Sometimes, the greatest surprises
come in very small boxes.
I had my first date with my wife at a coffee house. It
was a very relaxed atmosphere and she barely said a
word she was so nervous. I got so tired of my voice
but I kept talking because I wanted something to
connect with her. It was an amazing night though. We
ended up listening to a local band and staying up to
four in the morning.
I recently just moved to Ga and there are alot of coffe
places around here. I love Coffee so one day before
work I decided to stop by and grab a cup before a
long day. While on my way in an older man was
getting out of his car and walking in the same time I
11
COFFEE STORIES
was. I held the door for him, he was helping his wife
in who was having trouble walking. Well I let them
go infront of me in like so they would not have to
stand for so long, we got to talking and he asked me if
I would come over and help them take care of there
dog. Ever since we have been great frineds. Never
know who you are going to meet at the Coffe house!
I met a sweet guy in a coffee house on my college
campus. He offered to help me with chemistry
homework. After being friends for months, we fell in
love, and we are married now over forty years. The
place is still a coffee house, and we still like going
back there. Lots of warm, fuzzies there for us!
i watched a dog playing on the beach as my baby
slept in my lap.
I love coffee. I often enjoy coffee every morning with
friends or my family. Coffee with something a little
sweeter, a little, they saturated create flavor ecstatic. I
also know that coffee also helps treat the disease.
Most of the cafes I have not encountered problems
with the service:)
I was having coffee with my friend and this guy
friend of hers when suddenly I felt the world stop
when the guy and I were teasing each other. It lasted
only a few seconds but boy, the experience blew my
mind away. Funnily my friend felt the electricity
12
CONTRIBUTIONS
charging between me and the guy too. Unfortunately
nothing ever comes out of that feelings.
My Mom and I had drifted away from each other due
to hectic schedules. We were able to sit down, slow
down and reconnect over a cup of hot coffee at our
local coffee shop.
A job interview for one of my most important jobs
was held at a nearby Coffeehouse. I ended up
working in the job for 3 years. Since then, Iʹve noticed
a number of job interviews taking place at
coffeehouses.
I have reconnected with friends at coffee houses after
a shared experience like going to a movie. The coffee
house is a good place to sit down, relax, drink coffee,
and discuss our thoughts about the movie, whether
we liked it or not. It is better than standing out on the
sidewalk and talking about the movie outside the
theatre. The coffee house is more conducive to the
sharing of feelings about something like a movie.
Coffe shop hahaha hiow could i forget the last week
visit @ Costa Coffe Zamzama,karach, pakistan. Me
and my frends sitted there for chill . And Next to us
there is Cute n hot girl with a guy and they are
dating . After a while girl got angry with her b.f, she
talked to him with ill mannered in the mean while
waiter came to serve the coffe girl suddenly stand up
13
COFFEE STORIES
and slap the guy and pour the coffe in to his guy ..
We actually shcoked to see that wat is happening girl
go away although guy started crying . all of the coffe
shop including waiters r laughing hahahah ..
Iʹve had a lot of experiences at coffee houses. Most
recently, I met two ex‐coworkers for a cup of coffee
and ended up lounging on couches and talking all
afternoon. In the city, coffee houses offer a nice place
to conveniently meet with people for business or
pleasure.
My son, my mother in lawʹs first grandson, had been
born. Sheʹd had scheduling conflicts that resulted in
her spending some short visits (like taking care of his
older sister while I recovered) but not a long ooh‐and‐
ah session. Once able to drive (and my daughter was
back to preschool), I met her and her coworkers at a
coffee house bistro for a long show off luncheon.
Let me start off by saying I donʹt like coffee. When
my friend suggested to go to a coffee shop to have a
drink and study, I suggested the local fast food joint,
which was our usual place. Itʹs the middle of winter
and weʹre in Minnesota, so thereʹs a bunch of snow on
the ground and the air is frigid. My friend lured me
in to go to the coffee shop by explaining how the
interior is quiet, comfy, and had a fireplace. I was
sold on going when they mentioned the fireplace. I
was settled in my chair after ordering drinks; my
14
CONTRIBUTIONS
15
COFFEE STORIES
16
CONTRIBUTIONS
what was wrong. I explained that for the first time in
a VERY LONG time I didnʹt have that overwhelming
sense of stress and tension. I was completely relaxed
and completely in love. The chime went off to let us
know the coffee was ready.
My favorite thing in the world is a good cup of coffee
and acting as matchmaker to my friends and family.
While I was at a local coffeehouse, I noticed a young
man in his 20ʹs reading a medical journal (a soon to be
Doctor! What a good catch!) We began to chat, and I
learned that he was my oldest daughters age (what a
coincidence!) Our conversation turned into dinner
(and of course, I had to invite my daughter!) The end
result, she hated him, but I absolutely adored him!
Yes, call me a cougar if you wish. The Doctor and I
are still going strong ‐ proof that you never know
where you can find love, in addition to the fact that
love knows no age! By the way, my daughter is still
single!
Many great things happen over coffee at a coffee
house. One of my unforgetable experience was when
with a group of friends we were able to create a
community literacy project in just ten minutes. Since
everybody was very enthusiastic about the project,
ideas poured in and I have to type them out so that
we will not forget what we have talked about.
Because of the varied employment background of
each one but with the same line of interest, a
17
COFFEE STORIES
workable project was made in just 2 hours. Strategies
and methods on how to implement it was very easy
and involved trained volunteers only. To this date,
this volunteer literacy project has helped primary and
secondary indigenous students in their integration to
the mainstream society through their improved self‐
confidence by having good academic performance.
It was late in the evening; I was walking fast to reach
home as it was already 8’o’clock. While I was
going home, it started raining. At first tiny drops fell
on my nose and cheeks, I increased my pace of
walking. But soon after that there started a heavy
downpour. I ran quickly for shelter, but couldnʹt find
anything to cover on that part of the road. Suddenly I
noticed a shop and went inside; it was a coffee shop
just nearby the road. To my surprise that place was
empty, nobody was there in the counter even. I was
all alone standing and thinking what to do next.
Should I wait there at that deserted place or
immediately leave and get wet in the rain. Just then a
guy came neatly dressed in red shirt and black pants
with a red cap and asked how I may help you. I was
surprised and looked here and there as to how come,
he came from nowhere! He said that he was behind
the counter arranging the cups. He asked me to relax
and made my way to one of the chairs. I was
drenched in water so he suggested having some
coffee and he went back to the counter to bring a cup
of hot coffee for me. That guy had a sweet smile on
18
CONTRIBUTIONS
his gentle face that mesmerized me and I meekly did
what he said. In no time I was chatting with him and
enjoying my mug inside that warm coffee shop away
from the heavy rains and utter chaos and confusion of
the busy, wet road outside. What seemed only half an
hour to me at that time, turned out to be full two
hours when I returned home. Next day when I went
again to that place to pay my gratitude to that sweet
guy, I found him standing at the back of the counter
with his as usual cute smile. From that day I share a
special bond with that coffee shop that gave me some
nice moments and a very good friend.
When I was 21, I had just dropped out of college and
severed ties with a former roommate. I needed a place
to live and I was lucky enough to randomly be
introduced to a girl who owned her own business and
needed a live‐in assistant. We met at a coffee shop to
hammer out the details, and the first hint that we
would get along was that we both ordered an iced
chai. We discussed our living plans there over coffee,
and I wound up moving in with her for a year. It was
a great time in my life for personality development
and learning what I wanted to do with myself. She
was a very motivated, creative person who also loved
to be as animal‐ and earth‐friendly as possible. I
learned a lot from her, including healthy ways to cook,
clean, grow my own food and interact with others. It
was a very serendipitous coffee shop meeting.
19
COFFEE STORIES
I went to a local coffeehouse one day after I got home
from college break. I was sitting there and out of the
corner of my eye I thought I noticed someone that I
knew, it so happens that the person was my former
boyfriend who I dated in high school for about 2
years, and then we separated and went our separate
ways once college had started. We havenʹt talked
since the day that we broke up, so I was stunned and
excited to see him. He noticed me and he came over
immediately and we both embraced and I couldnʹt
stop smiling. I havenʹt had a series relationship ever
since we stopped seeing each other. He got his coffee
and he came and sat down and we talked for hours,
about how our college years were going and what we
were both studying and it turns out that he had been
thinking about me a lot lately and he was wondering
if he would ever see me again, and I was too. We sat
there until the coffee shop was closing, we then
decided to go grab something to eat and continue to
talk. To make a long story short, we went out
separate ways after that dinner, but we met the next
day, and thatʹs when our love grew once again. We
realized that we needed each other in our lives and
we didnʹt know how we both had gone on without
each other. Weʹve been with each other for 3 years
now and we couldnʹt be happier, we are planning to
get an apartment soon in the city and we are planning
on spending the rest of our lives together. I canʹt
believe that I decided to go to that coffee shop that
night, I am so glad that I did.
20
CONTRIBUTIONS
Sometimes it takes great coffee at a great coffeehouse
to open your eyes to a new way of life. This is exactly
what happened to me. Finding myself at a crossroad
between a real job or an entreprenurial future, I often
visited my local independent coffeehouse, ʺThe
Globeʺ, for relief from my research, phonecalls and
procratination. One day in October, when the seasons
had begun to change I breezed into the Globe to take
the edge off my caffeine craving with a rich Sumatran
brew. In line ahead of me was a chatty friend of a
friend. Since making the most of my time was not a
priority , I decided to indulge him. Little did I know
our chance encounter would change my life. We
began with small talk. Whatʹs up? Whatʹs new?
Hearing about my indecisive future, he challenged
me to let him help me get started. I can remember the
taste of the coffee and the feeling that my life was
about to change. It was as if the coffee synergized the
event from the past to the future. When I left the
coffehouse that day, I was on my way to becoming an
entrepreneur.
It was in a coffee house that I met my fiance for the
first time. We had not met earlier. According to the
traditional custom in my country, the parents meet
first and talk about their son and daughter. So only
our parents had spoken with each other and they
liked the family backgrounds. Then they arranged
for a meeting for both of us in a coffee house. I was bit
21
COFFEE STORIES
tensed as it was the first time I was going to speak to
a ʺboy friendʺ as I did not have any..The first sentence
he spoke was ʺDo you like me?ʺ.. I was totally filled
with shyness and could not respond..I just smiled and
nodded my head and my fiance fell in my smile.
Everything ended well.. Now it has been more than 5
years we are happily married. But still we never
forget that day at the cofee house.
As a graduate teaching assistant at Oregon State
University, undergrads are constantly asking for help.
Instead of meeting them in a dark, dreary office, I
generally suggest the coffee shop directly across the
street from the lab that I teach. I buy coffee at this
particular shop and always get my ʺfree coffeeʺ card
stamped. Instead of using them for myself, I give
them to students to redeem for a coffee of their choice.
That way I donʹt have to really pay for the coffee, and
I am not tied to a stuffy office. Female students ,
especially, prefer the public venue to a closed door
office, with a male instructor. The relaxed atmosphere
helps students to study, and the coffee shop owner
appreciates the ʺadvertisingʺ I do for the coffee shop.
Coffee houses are a great warm place full of some of
the best aromas on earth! I was in line at my local
coffee shop and behind me stood an old friend from
first grade and second grade. We were the best of
friends and we could not believe we ran into each
22
CONTRIBUTIONS
other.... the coffee house was no where near where we
grew up.
Well, the coffee house has always been an important
part of my growing years.... We have one quite close
to our house. Since I was a kid I remember getting all
excited to go to coffee house. Days when mom didnʹt
feel like cooking food we would all go there to have
coffee and cheese sandwiches. Iʹve spent hours at the
coffee house just sitting and chatting with my group
of friends which my dad jokingly called ʺthe gangʺ.
“The gang†consisted of five of us, college friends.
Whenever we wanted to go for a movie we would all
assemble at the coffee house and then make our
further plans. I still remember those summer
vacations when my best friend and I were very
enthusiastic about losing weight. We would get up
early in the morning, put on our jogging gear, and jog
for ten kilometers and then on the way back home, as
if to appreciate our hard work, we would treat
ourselves to yummy cheese sandwiches, and in the
process consume all the calories that we lost. This was
our daily routine, until finally one day we decided we
had to control this temptation of ours. But by then the
vacations were over and school started. Innumerable
hours iʹve spent at the coffee house laughing and
enjoying with friends, sometimes discussing serious
matters like my future, the career I was to opt for, etc.
Once I even remember sitting there and filling job
application forms. But my best memories of the coffee
23
COFFEE STORIES
24
CONTRIBUTIONS
25
COFFEE STORIES
26
CONTRIBUTIONS
27
COFFEE STORIES
28
CONTRIBUTIONS
29
COFFEE STORIES
30
CONTRIBUTIONS
31
COFFEE STORIES
32
CONTRIBUTIONS
I forgot my wallet and the person behind me bought
me a cup of coffee.
I think the best memories I have of drinking coffee are
after family dinners. Conversations are always great
then and there is something about coffee (i.e. aroma,
temperature) that can add so much to the
environment and vibe of a room.
On our first date my fiance and I went to a coffee
house and we spent hours sitting and drinking coffee.
I have no clue what I talked about but I did do most
of the talking. Somehow whatever I said made an
impression and we fell in love. Iʹve known since that
night in the coffee house that we would end up
getting married and spending the rest of our lives
together!
Over coffee at a coffeehouse, I realized what was
great about chess. Iʹd grown up wanting to like it and
wanting to be good at it, pushed to play by my father.
However, nothing had ever clicked about chess. I
walked into this coffeehouse late at night, and in the
back room there were three intense chess games
going. I started watching them, and was overcome by
the glamor of it. As I watched them play, I started to
understand the way you think ahead while playing. I
could see that a player moved his knight, for example,
with an eye to moving it elsewhere in the future. That
33
COFFEE STORIES
34
CONTRIBUTIONS
35
COFFEE STORIES
36
CONTRIBUTIONS
Some of the best moments of life have happened at
our local coffee house. I love to go down there and sit
with my family or with friends. One of my favorite
memories is going there with my little brother for
coffee. It was a couple weeks before Christmas. My
husband was deployed overseas and I was feeling
down. This was going to be yet another Christmas my
husband would be missing. To cheer me up my little
brother took me for coffee. As we sat there talking
about past Christmasʹs of our youth and how it was
exciting to see my childrenʹs faceʹs when you
mentioned Christmas it helped me to feel better. I will
always cherish that night at the coffee house with him.
Always.
I got attracted towards a girl at a coffee house, as both
of us were frequent visitors there. Finally 1 day i
proposed her and she accepted my proposal.
I met my girlfriend at the mocha house in warren.
I talked with my friends about an upcoming trip we
were planning and we relaxed and joked around with
each other and decided what we were going to do
next for the day.
In a coffee shop in minneapolis I sat. I was there with
a girl Iʹd know for some 2 days, a sorority girl of
lovely proportions, and good heart if not good head.
She and I talked and talked. We sipped the hot bean
37
COFFEE STORIES
38
CONTRIBUTIONS
As we sat down to talk, she told me she realized that
she was still in love with me and that we made a
mistake breaking up. Over the next hour and a half
as we talked, I realized that this moment was actually
happening. I had dreamed about getting another
chance with this girl and it was actually here. That
day changed my life. From that point on we got back
together and we are set to get married next year.
Starbucks will always have a huge place in my heart.
I reconnected with an old boyfriend and realized that
we both were meant to be since my current boyrfiend
hated coffee. It is important to have some common
interests.
I reconnected with an old friend of mine. We found
out we both just got involved with knitting, so we
brought some of our things and shared ideas. But
more important we got caught up on our lives and
everything that we missed out on. We spent five
hours at the coffee shop that day. Drinking, talking,
and knitting. We now meet at the coffee shop on a
regular basis.
On an easy Monday afternoon I was in a coffee shop
Getting my favorite drink while opening my new
laptop. As I was drinking my drinks and enjoy the
warm feel of cream in my coffee,I had the best
experience, something that I had hoped for I could
get on the internet wirelessly from the coffee shop.
39
COFFEE STORIES
Once, I was invited out for coffee. I went. I talked...ad
nauseum. I donʹt think I ever talked to that person
again. Now I hate coffee. (not really)
Over a cup of coffee (well, two cups of coffee and a
cup of chai ‐‐ there were three people involved) I
learned that I am an intelligent person capable of
communicating in complex and interesting ways with
people I thought were my intellectual superiors. I can
explain and justify my views, I can outline my plans,
and I can also learn and reflect in order to get past the
bumps in the road toward a dissertation. Over a cup
of coffee I found that my ideas are important and that
I can, and will, finish this PhD and what I say will
matter!
IK ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST TIME WITH MY
KIDS INT THE COFFEE HOUE. ALTHOUGH THEY
ARE ONLY 3 AND 5 ITS ONE OF THEIR FAVORITE
PLACES WE SITE AND HAVE OUR DRINKS MY
DAUGHTER LOVES DECAF COFFEE AN D MY
SON LOVES GREEN TEA. and i have a black coffee
and we sit everyday after school and talk about our
day
I once had a business meetintg in at Starbucks. It was
sort of an informational interview with a friend. It
helped me decide on a new career path.
40
CONTRIBUTIONS
I once landed a movie role at a coffe shop....... I was an
aspiring actress in LA, drinking a cafe mocha in a
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. I struck up a conversation
with a guy, too short for my liking, but he ended up
being a producer in Hollywood of what I would
consider B films. He said I looked just like the girl he
had envisioned for a project he was working on, and
for the first and only time in my career, he was
actually not bullshitting! It was a small role with one
line, but $500 (and a 5 cent HIT later), Iʹm telling the
story.
This is almost 4 years ago when I just met a friend of
mine and invited for a cofee, and suddenly that
Friend of mine who is a girl rejected and had so many
questions for why should I have coffee with you, I
somehow gave answers to most of those questions
and those dialogues just continued that friend of mine
became a girlfriend and we got married. Funniest
thing is we actually had that coffee after 6 months :)
One of the best things that has happened to me at a
coffee house was landing my 1st career. I had both
my 1st and 2nd interview for a large employer. Being
at a coffee house, releived some of the stress that I had
for the interview and made it a more personal setting
for the interview.
I used to tutor my friend at Caribou and during that
time she learned enough to pass her math final she
41
COFFEE STORIES
42
CONTRIBUTIONS
be a good place for me to go to figure out what I
wanted to do. As I was having coffee, contemplating
a nice cold beer, I saw a man reading ʺAlcoholics
Anonymousʺ at a table a couple away from me. I
approached him and shared my troubles with him
and we talked for hours. That was four years ago. I
still call him everytime I go to that town.
I met with a columnist at my schoolʹs newspaper and
realized that I wanted to be an editor. He suggested I
apply for a job at the paper, which I never wouldʹve
realized was an option for me. It gave me career
direction and, 8 years later, Iʹm a successful editor.
I use coffee houses to work on my books ‐ I found one
coffee shop in the village that has a homey feeling.
We are all quiet and yet working on our laptops. One
day I went in there totally uninspired, sat down and
by the end of 4 hours, I was shocked at how much
work I was able to complete. This place is so safe and
homey that even though weʹre in New York city, we
all leave our laptops at our couches when we go to
order more coffee and use the restroom.
Last summer, at the local coffeehouse, I was served a
lattee by the best looking barista I had ever seen. I
was a shy girl who never approached men, but that
night was different. With my girlfriends by my side
for support, I slipped him my phone number and told
him I looked forward to hearing from him soon. The
43
COFFEE STORIES
next day when I got out of the shower, I saw a missed
call from him on my cellphone. After playing voice‐
mail tag, we finally arranged a date, and had a
successful courtship for about a month. It didnʹt
work out, but that one encounter gave me the courage
to be confident in front of any guy I met afterwards.
All of the above. I really donʹt want to sound as white
trash as I am going to, but, in my hometown, the
Waffle House was as close as we had to a coffee shop.
Literally, over the years, (Iʹm now 48), all of the above
happened to me at my home town awful waffle.
I was in a small coffee house with a friend. A woman
at the next table admired my bag and asked about it. I
had made it and told her so. She owned a nice
boutique in town and I got an order for 25 of them. I
was $600 richer for having coffee that day!
I find that coffe & long talks with people can turn in
to good friend ships,in my own personal expereance i
made a really good friend just from over a cup of
coffee we both like coffee and a good conversation.we
usally get together a few times a week and drink
coffee and talk about anything so yes good things do
and can happen over coffee i know i made a good
friend i wouldnt trad for anything.
44
CONTRIBUTIONS
45
COFFEE STORIES
through them. Every time we meet for coffee, I fall in
love with him all over again.
When I was in 9th grade a coffeehouse opened in a
neighboring town. The seniors played there, and I
was invited, along with some other musical freshmen.
Well, of course, we made fools of ourselves, drinking
3 large mochas in one hour, and puking our guts out
later ʹcause they were just too rich. Before we got sick
though, two of my friends and I looked at each other
and said ʺWe could do this.ʺ And that was the
beginning of an acoustic group that was the hit of our
high school.
The best thing that happened to me at a coffee house
was that I found a job. I was drinking some coffee
and looking for jobs on the internet when a man
asked what kind of job was I looking for. I explained
my job postion to him and gave him my email adress.
He said he would check around with his freinds.
Never thinking of ever hearing from him again I
received an email from him and eventually it led to a
job.
I do remember one of the most memorable evenings I
had over coffee at a coffee house with some of my old
friends whom I met after a very long time. We
discussed all the great things we used to do when we
all were together. All the fun we had during our
school days and also the small fights that we had
46
CONTRIBUTIONS
between us. Really I was thinking that day that those
were really the best days of my life and i really now
regret growing up.
Well letʹs see..I make coffee and I can honestly say,
things happen better than if you didnʹt drink coffee. If
it werenʹt for coffee on those hard days that I was too
tired to do anything, Iʹd just fall over and die.
Another thing about coffee and that it has allowed me
to be more productive and faster in things I do. Iʹve
made friends while drinking coffee too. Coffee is just
a requirement in this world. :)
I was at a coffee house having a meeting with my
boss. The meeting was for an evalutation. I ended up
getting a raise!
I am in the Reserves and after a Drill we head over
there and sit back and relax. We get to know each
other and form bonds with each other that will last
when we all deploy. This starts are bonds together
and we form trust and friendships that will last us
threw the hard times.
I met my current boyfriend when I grabbed his coffee
by mistake at the counter. It was a great talking point,
and he chatted with me while I waited for my coffee.
He seemed like a great guy and amazingly I gave him
my business card, which I donʹt normally do, he
47
COFFEE STORIES
called the next day and we have been together since
(going on 2 years).
One great thing that happened at a coffee house was
that I was able to relax and study. Because of this
studying I was able to Ace my final exam. The
atmosphere is very relaxing and comfortable.
I did have a fantastic first date meeting for coffee,
which does sound clique, but it was a great
experience. I met the girl around 2pm and I had tea,
since I do not even drink coffee. She poked fun at me
for that, and that was when I knew she was the one
for me. We have been together for 3 years now!
As a working mom of a one year old, a hyperactive
dog, two cats...and a husband...the most amazing
thing happens to me on a rare (and lucky occasion) at
the local Starbucks. It may not sound too exciting to
anyone else, but I wouldnʹt trade it for anything. And
that amazing thing is the chance to hang out with my
best friend (also, oddly enough working mom to a
one year old, a dog, two cats and a husband). We get
to pretend that weʹre normal people without an
enormous laundry list of things to do when we get
home. We can unwind, decompress, and share our
wacky stories. Itʹs is a treasured time for me, and I
am always so thankful for it.
48
CONTRIBUTIONS
49
COFFEE STORIES
I had great experience in coffee day that i cant forget
it in my life.Last june 18th i went to coffee day with
my friend and to my surpise i saw my best friend
which i had missed her in inter 1st year and after that
i didnt met her for almost 6years as i am not having
any address or contact number also to contact
her.After 6 years i saw her we started to stare with
each other and we shouted like any thing that others
were shocked about our surpise.We had tears in our
eyes in joyment that we missed almost her 6years i
think that was the most unforgettable incident in my
life.Now we are happy and if we want to meet again
we always meet in that coffee day itself.This was the
incident which made me happy in my life
Great ideas happen over coffee! Last summer I spent
a month in small town across the country from where
I grew up. I was visiting family, and didnʹt know
anyone there. Everyday, while my cousins all went to
work, I sat in the local coffee shop and wrote. By the
end of the summer, I had a bunch of new friends and
a plan to start a new business when I got home. Now
here I am, I still have those friends and all plans are a
go for that business!
Once, I drove very far with my father on a day trip
and we stopped at a coffeehouse in the mountains on
the way. We sat in the cafe, just discussing things we
donʹt normally get to because I attend college 500
miles away from home. There we got to discuss so
50
CONTRIBUTIONS
many things going on in our lives, and I told him
about my decision to join the US Navy if I donʹt get a
job upon the first few months of graduation from
college. It took him awhile to process, but as we
talked more about it he became more supportive of
my idea, and now is so proud of my decision to
become a responsible adult and pay for my tuition
any way I have to. Heʹs my best friend, and sitting in
a coffeehouse let us have such an understanding.
I used to go to the nearby coffee house in Matthews,
NC named Coffeeworks which always had someone
interesting to talk to. I would use it as a hang out, a
place to meet others before going elsewhere, or just a
place to grab a quick cup. Although I could tell a
million stories, the best one is what led to my current
life. One night, a group of my girlfriends and I were
going to meet up there before going out to dinner. I
was just finishing up working a sixteen hour shift at
work, and as usual I was the last to show. One of my
friends had struck up a conversation with a lone
gentleman whose 21st birthday it happened to be. He
went on to explain that he was supposed to meet a
friend there who had called to cancel. Seeing this guy
was stood up, on his birthday none the less, Jeanine
invited him to girls night. That day and every day
since for the last 9 years, I have enjoyed being with
my husband and we have three beautiful children
together.
51
COFFEE STORIES
You bump into an old high school friend and get a
chance to reconnect.
I met with an old friend for coffee at a coffeehouse. It
had been several years since we had really talked, so I
wasnʹt sure how we had changed over time and if we
would still get along well. We met and had a great
time. While we both had changed over the years, it
was in similar ways. We both ended up with many
similar experiences and had a great reconnection. We
are still really close friends to this day.
At a coffee house I fell in love with a wonderful man.
We are going to be getting married this year.
Last summer, my two best friends and I enjoyed
coffee and cheesecake after not seeing eachother for
many months. The atmosphere of the small town
coffee shop made us feel like we were kids again.
I got a Job I had been trying for for a really long time
after meeting my superior at a coffee house. It was
much more relaxing and calming, I was able to be
more myself.
I have had a lot of great things happen to me in
Coffee Shops, some over coffee, some just hanging
out there. The best thing that has ever happened to
me by far, is my lovely wife. I used to frequent a
independent coffee shop, everyday I would sit there
52
CONTRIBUTIONS
and drink my coffee, talk to the employees, and just
hang out and enjoy the atmosphere. My wife was also
a customer and we saw each other all the time, but
just had some small talk and a few jokes. I stopped
going to the shop after a while and started going to
another down the road. I was shocked to find out she
was working there and still talked only a little bit. I
would see her every Sunday morning and I started
sitting with her and her sister, we talked and looked
forward to hanging out on Sunday morning
whenever possible. I moved to NYC and went back
to visit my family, while I was walking into a
restaurant, guess who is sitting outside the coffee
shop next store, she was, with one of her friends, I
said “hi†and went to hang out with my family. I
stayed in NYC for a couple of years before moving
back, but when I did, I started going to the coffee
shop again. I was pretty friendly with the owners and
about everyone else that walked in. The owner of the
shop invited me to the wedding, so I went solo, just
like a few other coffee shop regulars, one was my wife.
We talked and set up our first date at the wedding of
our favorite coffee shops owners. Since our first date,
we have never left each others sides and coffee has
been a big part of that. After being together for 2
years we decided to open up our own shop and in
doing so, our love for coffee has escalated. We are still
together and happy as ever.
53
COFFEE STORIES
I was in this busy little coffee house. There were no
available tables anywhere in that building. A nice
guy said to me, ʺThis seat isnʹt taken. Would you like
to join me?ʺ So I did, I sat down with him and we
talked. We talked for hours and hours, until the place
was getting ready to close. From there, we ended up
dating for a few weeks. Then soon after, we eloped.
Weʹve been happily married for 12 years now. These
types of things (I didnʹt think) really happened in real
life. I only thought this happened in the movies. But
every day that weʹre together, we fall more and more
in love with each other. And every year on our
anniversary, we go back to that same little coffee
house.
I went to a coffee house a week ago and met my old
school mate after a gap of 10 years. It was so nostalgic
to bring back all those golden memories of school. He
had not changed a bit, it was so nice to meet him and
get in touch with an old buddy.
One great thing that happened over coffee at a
coffeehouse was my husband found out he was going
to be a dad.
Visiting my old hometown, I met the ʺbig football
heroʺ from my old high school,at the same little cafe
we went to back then. They made the best coffeecake
and had great coffee too. This guy was voted best of
everything. He was tall, handsome and it seemed as
54
CONTRIBUTIONS
though he would be an NFL star at the very least.
Well, I didnʹt recognize him because he gained at least
200 pounds! He came up to me. Apparently his high
school days, were his best days. He proceeded to tell
me how college was too hard, drinking was easy and
basically he threw his life away. He never bothered
to ask how I was,so I took my coffee to go. (and took
some coffeecake too!)
coffee gives to me a good energize and centric power
to me always happiness to coffee to me
I met my current husband at a coffee house. Being
that it was almost midnight and I was tired after
studying, I really didnʹt feel like company. In fact I
was the sole person there except for the night
manager. While I was relaxing with my mocha latte
(which happen to be hot instead of my usualy iced
latte because I was trying to unwind) these wild
bunch of young men came in. They were talking
loudly and jumping around. Then I noticed they
were all wearing military uniforms! How
unprofessional is what I thought. So being the nosey
woman I am I started listening in to what they were
wailing on about. It happened to be that they all were
on 24 hour duty and as I noted it had been a pretty
icey cold February day. Not only was that what they
were carrying on about getting deployed soon while
ordering there coffee. They were very excited about
this which entrigued me. Why be excited about being
55
COFFEE STORIES
deployed to some third world country? So I listened
and learned about why they wanted to. Within a few
minutes of listening, I noticed the conversation
started to die down a bit and then cease all together. I
turned around slowly to get a glimpse of them and
they were all staring right at me! I was completely
embarrased for being caught. And to my surprise
they werenʹt rude at all. They all moved near me and
I noticed they were all in their early twenties. They
are removed their caps and introduced themselves to
me. But one with blonde hair, blue eyes and a
mischeivous grin caught my eye. He introduced
himself as Russel. He seemed to be the real life of
them all as we sat there and talked. He was funny,
smart, and definately good looking. He told me he
had grown up in Montana working on farms and
moving often. He told me of his family and about his
military career. The others told me about themselves,
but I donʹt remember to much about them except they
seemed polite. Though a few stole quick glances at
my body. I went from being annoyed, to intrigued, to
being hopelessly in love with some man that was to
deployed soon. We said our goodbyes about 2 in the
morning. And that soldier gave me his number and
we have been meeting at that coffee house almost
every chance we get.
Im a part time magician and I always take the chance
to do a trick or 2 just put a smile on another
customers face or the person working behind the
56
CONTRIBUTIONS
57
COFFEE STORIES
58
CONTRIBUTIONS
My boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend, so
pretty much, I had no one to turn to. I walked in the
front door of Trixies Coffeehouse in Roseville, MI
(which the front door, I found out is a sure sign of a
neebie everyone uses the back door) and made a
whole new group of friends. Because of the huge
network of friends that extended to the dive bar a
block away Iʹve met my husband, and some of the
greatest people in the world. Trixies saved me from
becoming a lonely shut in.
I was invited to coffee 15 years ago by an
acquaintance. He was a nice man that was an
Assistant Director of a company in town, so I decided
to meet with him and have a good laugh as he had a
wicked sense of humor. After we settled in our booth
and started to drink our coffee, we talked about
mutual freinds and interests. After about 20 minutes,
he looked at me and said that I was perfect for a job
opening that he had at his company. He was looking
for someone who could weed through the b.s. and
had a technical mind. I was a little shocked and
asked what the pay was, and he offered me $2.50 an
hour more than I was making and guarenteed 10
hours of overtime every week. I jumped at the chance
and never regretted it. It was so shocking that a
simple coffee klatch at the local restaurant led to a
great job!
I realised that there was no God!
59
COFFEE STORIES
My ex‐boyfriendʹs new girlfriend introduced me to
chai. Itʹs now my favorite hot drink, and we
remained friends. (They each went on to marry other
people.)
At my local coffeehouse, I met and got to know Tim
the head guy. A nice fellow.Good place also.
One night, frantic over Christmas gifts, I stopped by a
Starbucks, to get a sip of coffee to relieve my stress. I
received my coffee and almost went out the door,
when I noticed there were many great gifts on the
shelves next to the door. There were gifts for young
children such as plush toys, and such. It was like a
gift from above.
A friend and I hung out for the last time before we
went to college.
I met my boyfriend at the coffee shop on the corner of
my block for our routine coffee break and study hour.
He was a few minutes late. It was raining. I opened
my text book on the table and started to reread my
biology lesson when he finally came through the door.
He had a bouquet of yellow daisies in his right hand
and his text book in the other. He smiled wide as he
swayed across the room like a slow motion scene
from the movies. I greeted him and he handed me the
flowers saying he was hoping it was worth the wait. I
60
CONTRIBUTIONS
61
COFFEE STORIES
62
CONTRIBUTIONS
in their business. I was so shocked because they were
not the adventurous type. They had a plan and we
discussed their financial situation as we drank our
cup of coffee. I still remember the coffee shop was
playing Bob Marley on CD. I thought of the creative
legacy he had and wished my friends the best. It was
special that they had thought enough of me to share
with me their plans. They are still in the beginning of
their new adventure. Every time we get together,
always for coffee, there is a brighter countenance and
a more fulfilled tone in their speech. I feel good for
them knowing they have made their lives more
complete.
Well funny you should ask. Just the other day i
walked into starbucks like any other day on my way
to work. Nothing out of the ordinary, just your usual
day. However this day was some what different. I
saw a girl from high school. Sad to say she was my
crush, but she didnʹt even know i even had a pulse.
Alot has changed since that time and so i went to talk
to her. Silly me why did i even think that she would
talk to me she was just as rude as she was in high
school. Guess old habbits die hard. As she is leaving
and iʹm standing there a little dissappointed. The
most amzing thing happened she was heading
towards the door and a ups worker was comming in
with a bunch of boxes. The door smashed her in the
face and she spilled all the coffee on her white shirt.
63
COFFEE STORIES
Its funny how Karma works. So pretty much be nice
and maybe someone will hold the door for you.
I was sitting in a coffee shop visiting with an old
friend when I made the decision to return to college
and finish my degree after a 15 year hiatus. Thatʹs a
pretty big step!
When my husband and I met on line, we discovered
we both loved to treat ourselves to Starbucks on our
way to work. So we started meeting there one
morning a week, Wednesdays at 6:30 am so we could
have a cup of coffee and chat. It gave us something to
look forward to mid‐week. Three months later we
were engaged, 8 months later married, and even then
we continued ʺmeetingʺ once a week for coffee before
work. It gave us quiet one‐on‐one time.
About 2 years ago, I was at Starbucks, and something
hilarious happened. This guy at the front of the line
freaked out because they would no longer take is
discount coupon, he was throwing things all over the
place, and when they asked him to leave, he would
not. The cashier called the police, and the man left
before they arrived, but that was my favorite time at a
coffee house.
This is actually a story happened to my girlfriend. She
is a simple Asian girl who arrived in the U.S. just a
couple of months ago. She does not speak English
64
CONTRIBUTIONS
65
COFFEE STORIES
My husband and I had been good friends before
being encouraged to try dating. Our first date went
okay....... towards the end of the date, we stopped at a
coffee house and over lattes decided to try one more
ʺtest dateʺ A year later we were engaged. 2 years
later we were married and 4 years later we had a
baby.
One year I was working as a waitress in a coffee
house. This one Christmas the boss decided to hold a
toy drive and collected toys and stocking stuffers for
needy kids. On Christmas eve, we invited 35 families,
which had 53 kids. We served coffee cake, tea, snacks
and other goodies. Than, the owner dressed as Santa,
came out and handed out the stockings and wrapped
toys to all the kids. For the adults, he gave them a
$125 gift card to Wal‐mart to buy stuff they need, and
a $250 grocery gift card to the local grocery store so
they can buy some food or whatever other stuff they
needed. We have been doing that every year until I
quit because of a back injury, but I still help out each
other he does it. It brings a great smile to my face.
once me and my girlfriend went in a coffee house and
we have sex in the restroom
I spend a lot of time at coffeehouses. I can talk to old
girlfriends without it being awkward, because I can
leave quickly. You can sit for hours, or twenty
66
CONTRIBUTIONS
67
COFFEE STORIES
saw her there. I started talking to her and we seemed
to hit it off. Sadly when I asked her if she wanted to
get dinner sometime she told me she had a boyfriend.
Total fail on my part...
So many of the memories I have from high school
happened in a coffee shop. I had one friend in
particular who I would make it a point to grab coffee
with once a month, give or take. We ran with
different groups of friends, played different sports,
and took different classes so it was hard to see one
another. After about a month or so, weʹd catch up and
have so much to tell one another. We would spend
hours sipping our coffee, talking about boys, school,
going off to college...anything really. These really
were some of the greatest times I can remember.
Spending time with friends is invaluable.
I met a friend at a coffeehouse to discuss some
projects ‐ he brought a colleague along. One cup lead
to another... we plan to marry next summer.
I met up with an old friend who presented me with a
new business opportunity, becoming partners in a
new business.
Our home schooling group used to meet monthly at a
local coffee house. It was time to relax with friends,
bring the kids so they could get together to talk and
make plans of their own. In better weather, we
68
CONTRIBUTIONS
69
COFFEE STORIES
showed up there that night, we all knew we needed
eachother and we new where we could go to comfort
eachother. many things happend over the years we all
spent together, some times simple and sometimes not
so simple. Still now when some of us get together we
all know where to meet, there is no question. And
when I am back home visiting sometimes I drive by
or stop in and grab some iced coffee and I swear I can
still see us in that back corner trying to grow up too
soon and be cool.
I have found having coffee at coffeehouses is a great
place to catch up/reconnect with friends. We moved
far from our friends, but once a year we all meet up
for vacation. There is a great cooffee shop where us
ladies ditch the kids and husbands and just talk and
catch up. It is like we have not been apart. We love it
so much that this coffeehouse chat has become a
yearly event!! We look forward to it!!
I have one amazing story that I think is interesting. I
was at a University Of Oregon Starbucks one day, I
use to live by the coffee shop and was always curious
if I could pick up some ladies, but it never happened.
I use to go in once a week, and drink my coffee, and
try to look like I was busy with stuff. One day, some
lady started a conversation with me, and she was
obviously in her 40ʹs, so there was no attraction, but
we got to talking, and she just spoke about all the
things I would do with my life, when I would find a
70
CONTRIBUTIONS
71
COFFEE STORIES
Directly behind me without my realization is the most
gorgeous woman I have ever seen. Without my
knowledge she had ordered the exact same thing as I
did. Once my order was complete the person who
prepared my order called out that it was ready and
the both of us stood up and went to the counter at the
same time. After a bit of discussion and a bit of
flirting she ended up with her coffee and I ended up
with a date. This was definitely one of my more
memorable days even though she only went out with
me twice.
I met up with a old friend i havent seen in years.
Now we see each other all the time and are great
friends again.
My girlfriend and I were flirting over some $3.75
Mocha Frappucinnos at a starbucks. The sugar and
sweetness got into us and we were going hyper and
crazy. Soon, some cream landed on my lips and she
slowly came closer to my face and licked it off with
her warm tongue. We proceeded to have lots of fun
that night. because that sight made me horny.
I watched as the girl of my dreams smiled seductively
at me left the coffeehouse. I was so jacked up on joe
(and stoned) that I was unable to intercept her to ask
for a date. What a bummer! I never saw her again, but
I still dream about her, especially if I drink coffee
before bedtime.
72
CONTRIBUTIONS
I met my father who previously i had never met
before at a coffe house. it was by chance, and i had no
idea how i was able to recognize him, but.. something
inside of me told me that was him. We talked for
hours, it really was an amazing experience that i will
never forget.
My wife asked me to meet her at our favorite coffee
shop. That was not an unusual request. We met
there often. We went there on our first date. I
proposed there. We stopped by on the way to the
airport for our honeymoon. And we go there every
other chance we get, itʹs ʺourʺ place. This time was
different. She ordered water, not her usual large drip.
She didnʹt have to say anything. I looked at her. She
looked at me. I grabbed her in arms, picking her up
and twirling. I quickly set down realizing that might
not be healthy for the baby.
3 years ago, I was at my local Starbucks sipping my
coffee, when i started a conversation with this lovely
woman named Rachel. We talked for almost an hour,
when she had to leave, she gave me her number. I
asked her out for dinner that Saturday night, and we
have been happily dating ever since!
Great moments have happened to me over coffee.
Sitting at the coffee house I gaze in front of me and
just start smiling as I start to realize I’m falling
73
COFFEE STORIES
deeper and deeper in admiration for the man talking
to me. Our conversation was endless; it was as if we
had known each other for years. There wasn’t a
moment of “dead air†all night, I still can’t
figure out if it was the coffee or just the fact that we
indeed liked each other. Coffee gives you a burst of
energy so maybe we were both just rambling as a
result of the sugar intake but on second thought I
doubt it, because he is my husband now. It all started
over a cup of coffee.
I met my first bf at Starbucks coffeehouse. He was
always there with his laptop and doing some work
and I just happened to like their frapuccino and will
seat close to him. One day, we were in line trying to
order coffee and he started the conversation telling
me If i just work nearby. I said, yea I work nearby and
the conversation just went on and on. Then after that,
he asked me for a date after work.. (pretty fast eh?) I
said.. sure.. depends if I have time (me trying hard to
get :) ) Of course we met after work and the date went
on and on. I must say... It was one of the most
memorable days of my life.
Me and my friend decided that we wanted to set up
an art exhibition this year on the subject matter of
Wabbi Sabbi
Once I was sitting in a coffee house reading a book.
An old high school friend approached me that I
74
CONTRIBUTIONS
hadn’t seen in years. Turned out he and I were in
a similar line of work and he helped me get a better
paying job.
I secured the job I have had for the last 4 years over
coffee at a coffeehouse. I was actually there to meet
another friend and heard two people sitting near me
discussing the expansion of their start‐up company. I
leaned over and said that I was looking for work and
they spent the next 30 minutes talking about the
company, which lead to a job 2 weeks later.
I met my husband at a coffee house through a mutual
friend. We have been together for over 7 years.
The best thing that ever happened to me at a coffee
house was when my husband and I met with our
preacher to plan our wedding. It was the last hurdle
we needed to jump before the big day. Coming from
different religious backgrounds, we were anxious
about the ceremony. Over our coffees, we were able
to work things out to incorporate both of our faiths
and make our families feel honored.
On May 18th of this year I was enjoying a cup of
coffee with a old co‐worker/friend. We normally sit
outside to enjoy the sun and rushing rive that goes by.
When half way threw a conversation he grabbed his
chest! I wasnʹt sure what to do... the shop owner
called 911 and my friend was rushed away as his
75
COFFEE STORIES
coffee turned cold... I got to see him hours later after
they had concluded he had a heart attack and would
be staying a couple days... He ended up having an
emergency triple bypass! I went to see him off and on
since then and recently we even meet up for a coffee
in our usual seats by the river... now the great thing
about this story other then my friend is doing great is
that in the time I had to drink my coffee alone I had
many hours to contemplate life without my friend
and have come to the conclusion that the coffee is
much better with a friend! and even the simplest
things in life ( a cup of coffee) are not to be taken
advantage of. May 18th is one of the scariest days of
my life and one of the greatest!
I sat alone at the coffee bar located inside a book store
in the Florida Keys. I over heard a conversation
between an older man and a younger woman sitting
near by. Thaey were talking about a medicine
delivery to Cuba aboard the manʹs motor boat. I
turned and asked if they could use a crewman and
they answered yes. The next morning we were in the
Florida Straits heading south, by sundown we were
there. Time ashore was short, just enough time to buy
a cup of Cuban coffee but long enough for me to
know, when tourism is open to Americans Iʹll be the
first to by a ticket.
For me I always find coffee houses as a source of cozy
inspiration. Iʹm sure the environment (the way a
76
CONTRIBUTIONS
coffee house smells, the way itʹs decorated etc.) has a
lot to do with the warm cozy feeling I get. I always
overhear the most endearing and intelligent
conversations. I see people studying, playing on their
computer and drawing in sketch books. It seems like
people in coffee houses are trying to move forward in
life and that encourages me.
For some reason there is always a number of
interesting things happening to me at coffee shops! If
itʹs not running into old acquaintances itʹs definitely
meeting some new and interesting people all the time.
I remember one time I went to a coffee shop down the
street from my house and there was this local band
there and I had no idea who they were I listened for a
few songs and was just about to leave when the
singer approached to ask why I was leaving so soon. I
was speechless well because first off he was gorgeous
and I guess they werenʹt as small as a band as I
thought that they were. They were friends with the
owner of the coffee shop and were doing him a favor
to get more people to come to the coffee shop. So me
and the singer struck up a conversation and this was
a very quaint little coffee shop with a real working
fireplace and this was winter so I was thankful for the
warmth. We sat down and I thought this was going to
be one of those conversations that last for a short time
followed by many awkward silences haha but I was
shocked that we easily kept talking for over three
hours. He was a very friendly and interesting
77
COFFEE STORIES
78
CONTRIBUTIONS
79
COFFEE STORIES
agreed to hang out there again. This went on for
several weeks and we got to be pretty good friends.
However, my boyfriend was not happy about me
hanging out with another guy, so I began to talk to
the guy in the red hat less and less. We lost touch
after that for about a year and a half. One day, I got
an email from the guy and he asked if Iʹd like to go
out for coffee at that same coffeehouse. I had broken
up with my boyfriend quite some time before then, so
I agreed. We had a great date at the coffeehouse and
began dating after that. I fell for him hard and fast.
Nine months later he proposed to me in the parking
lot of the coffeehouse. We are now married and
incredibly happy together. Yay coffee!
I love working in coffee shops. I have an office, but
sometimes I want humans and ambient noise around
‐ but not so much as to distract me. Coffee shops are
the perfect venue (not to mention the caffeine itself!). I
always look for a free‐wi‐fi and usually do research‐
type work. I have a couple favourites. They are in my
neighbourhood, great coffee and a warm, eclectic feel.
I never feel like it’s corporate or there’s a
timer on to urge me to leave.
When I was about 18 years old, my friends started
inviting me to a little coffee shop in the middle of
town. It was always at night, which baffled me, but
after one visit I realized why they liked going there so
much. There must have been about twenty people
80
CONTRIBUTIONS
there at any given time during the night ‐ The coffee
company even changed their hours to stay open later
for us. What amazed me was that all of these people
got along, everyone eventually became good friends
and were loyal customers to the coffee shop. A lot of
people liked to play cards there, also. It was at that
coffee shop that I met my future fiancee through
friends that I had also acquired there. Four years later,
weʹre still together, and are still loyal customers of the
coffee shop.
One Sunday morning, I went to THAT coffee house,
you know the one that is on every street corner?
Anyway, I was reading the Sunday paper, minding
my own business...and drinking coffeee, of course. I
happened to overhear a couple at the next table
discussing the name of a person that I knew years ago.
Now, this name was SO unusual that I knew that
there could only be one of them. So I excused myelf
and asked them if they were talking about the person
that I used to know. Come to find out, one of them
was a distant relative of that person and I gave her
my name and number to give to my old friend. I
never heard from my old friend, but I always think of
her when I pass that coffee shop.
Yes i had something great happen over coffee at a
coffee house since i have suddenly meet my old
friend which we are not meet at the past 10 years. It
is surprising me
81
COFFEE STORIES
While at a coffee house I was offered the job of a
lifetime! I accepted and I have traveled many places
with my new career
Normally I start my day in the coffee shop, and one
day, as I was sipping my hot brewed coffee, an old
lady approached me and ask if im interested in
operating on of her coffee shop. I don’t know
what Iʹm thinking at that moment but I automatically
said ʺwhy notʺ. Until today, im still working at this
coffee shop and im operating 8 branches already. The
lady had already passed away few yrs back. I married
her daughter and now, we own the chain of coffee
shop. 8 shops and hope to add 1 more by mid this
year. When I was in college, I went to several
coffeehouses. I made new friends and had a great
time. My best friend met her husband there. I met my
husband at a coffeehouse. I had just moved over to
the US from the UK and knew barely anybody. On
the weekends I would walk over to the local coffee
shop and sit outside watching the world go by with a
cup of coffee and a book. On e Saturday I was being
hit on by an annoying idiot when my husband saved
the day. After hearing my accent he asked if I had
heard of a town called Helston in Cornwall, UK,
which happened to be his last name. The conversation
continued and four years later we are happily
married!! My boyfriend took me to a very romantic
dinner to celebrate our one‐year anniversary.
82
CONTRIBUTIONS
Afterwards, he took me to get coffee and we sat
outside and discussed our future together! It was then
and there that I knew we would always be together. I
was in a small coffee house with a friend. A woman at
the next table admired my bag and asked about it. I
had made it and told her so. She owned a nice
boutique in town and I got an order for 25 of them. I
was $600 richer for having coffee that day! When I
met my very first girlfriend in college who in time
soon married one of our dates way back to when we
first started dating was to the drowsy poet in
Lynchburg va right outside liberty university were
we met at school. She was from pa, I was a local in
VA. She loved coffee and also it was a place for
poetry so we used to always go there and socialize as
well as kick back to some of the bands that played
there. It was surely a popular hang out spot. I am a
real estate investor in Colorado and I always meet
with other potential investors for coffee. I have had
two investors sign contracts to do deals with me. I
love the coffee house even more now!! I think all the
small things that have happened to me over coffee at
coffeehouses add up to something great. I have met
old friends and made new friends. One of my best
experiences is sitting alone and having someone come
up to me who noticed a book I was reading and
introducing him to me. 4 He then shared his views
with me and I shared with him. He offered insights I
had not thought of and I am sure he felt the same. We
then parted company. I never got his name but he is
83
COFFEE STORIES
still in my mind. My story goes way back to the 60s
and a New York Coffeehouse. I went there one night
to listen to some poetry and have some coffee with a
bunch of girls from college. Some guys we knew came
in and since it was so crowded, they asked to join us
and we made room for them. Before the evening was
over one of the guys and I were totally smitten with
each other. He walked me home and asked, but was
not invited in. We went on to date for a year and a
half and frequently visited ʺourʺ coffeehouse! I had
my first date at a coffee shop, it was a very young
stage and I didn’t had any place to go and took
my girlfriend and finally we went to a coffee shop
and I proposed her over there and finally I got
succeeded and she is todayʹs my wife. I came up with
an amazing script for a thrilling motion picture, E.T.,
while at a coffee house. ‐ S. Spielberg I was at a coffee
house having a meeting with my boss. The meeting
was for an evaluation. I ended up getting a raise! I
went out with someone who was a friend of mine at
the time, but later he became my boyfriend. At this
point I had already fallen for him but wasnʹt sure how
he felt about me. The two of us went to coffee house
together and how offered to pay for mine as if it were
a date. The rest of the time we just sat at one of the
tables that had checkers pieces set up and played each
other and talked. Iʹm pretty sure that it was that
occasion that cemented that we would finally start
dating each other. I learned to play the board game
Risk at a coffeehouse near where I live. Sounds odd,
84
CONTRIBUTIONS
85
COFFEE STORIES
He did not pay for my drink that day, and I took it to
mean that he was a non‐chauvinist and a saver. I
knew I wanted him. In a coffee shop in Minneapolis I
sat. I was there with a girl Iʹd know for some 2 days, a
sorority girl of lovely proportions, and good heart if
not good head. She and I talked and talked. We
sipped the hot bean juice and became giddy,
eventually rubbing feet beneath the table. We walked
out into the frosty air and let our lips meet,
exchanging the bitter taste of the warm coffee, and
letting our breath float visibly above us. I met up with
an old friend I haven’t seen in years. Now we see
each other all the time and are great friends again. I
worked regularly on a novel at a local coffeehouse,
listening to the music and relaxing in a great writing
atmosphere. Coffee shops ‐‐ good coffee shops, at
least ‐‐ are a safe, cozy place to meet people youʹre
unsure about. This can be a first date or, as has often
happened for me, an awkward meeting with an ex‐
boyfriend with whom Iʹd been happily out of touch.
The nice thing about coffee shops is that you can stay
as little as 20 minutes ‐‐ just have a cuppa, catch up,
and then make a quick getaway ‐‐ or stay there
talking and sipping chai for half the night, depending
on how the conversation goes. In my life, Iʹve had it
go both ways! I made a friend by going to coffee
house at the same time and the same day, weekly. I
befriended the cashier, who is still my friend 5 years
later. He helped me make all major decisions, and
listened to my weekly issues for the entire time, and
86
CONTRIBUTIONS
87
COFFEE STORIES
when I come in. Itʹs nice to go someplace and even
though they see a thousand people a day can still
remember a little something. I have had some great
ideas at coffee houses, while talking with friends, but
had them pretty much shot down, because in America
the home of the free, not much is free. I had a great
idea that would help millions of people suffering
from arthritis in their hands, sent it to an invention
company only to find that I would have to pay $700
to have it made up and marketed, the company
thought it was a great idea, but couldn’t go any
further because I didn’t have the funds to pay
them. Heres my idea in case someone with money
could market it to help people. People get pain all
over their bodies, including their hands, especially
people with arthritis, there is nothing on the market
to help them but creams and gloves, the arthritis pain
people get is in the joint right below their finger nail,
there is patches for back pain, shoulder pain, leg pain,
etc.. They should make small band aid sized wraps
with arthritis medicine on them for people to put on
the joints on their fingers. I just think it would help
millions of people suffering from arthritis pain. And
that is my brilliant idea! Over a cup of coffee I met my
current advisor and will someday get a PhD My first
true boyfriend would take me to the coffeehouse all
the time, we had so much fun just sipping frozen
cappuccinos and bonding. It was a great experience.
The best things that have happened to me have been
related to my writing. I occasionally meet with people
88
CONTRIBUTIONS
89
COFFEE STORIES
90
CONTRIBUTIONS
coffeehouse. She had already been with the company
for three years when I started the job. She and I would
dare each other to do espresso shots, plenty of
gossiping and customer stories were exchanged and
many shopping trips planned. We are best friends
because of the coffee shop even though I now live in
Florida and she is in Connecticut. A job interview for
one of my most important jobs was held at a nearby
Coffeehouse. I ended up working in the job for 3
years. Since then, Iʹve noticed a number of job
interviews taking place at coffeehouses. Iʹm a costume
designer and often meet with directors and
production staff at a coffeehouse for preproduction
and early planning meetings. Itʹs so amazing to see a
show come together while weʹre nestled into a corner
talking. What begins with words on a page gets
hashed over repeatedly, people tossing their various
ideas and specialties into the mix. Everyone jots notes
for themselves, someone inevitably draws a diagram
of something ‐ the set, a light plot, a costume ‐ on a
napkin and things begin to coalesce. By the end of the
afternoon, our nebulous ideas come together into a
cohesive whole and weʹve turned a thin booklet of
dialogue into a full production! It was late in the
evening; I was walking fast to reach home as it was
already 8 oclock. While I was going home, it started
raining. At first tiny drops fell on my nose and cheeks,
I increased my pace of walking. But soon after that
there started a heavy downpour. I ran quickly for
shelter, but couldnʹt find anything to cover on that
91
COFFEE STORIES
part of the road. Suddenly I noticed a shop and went
inside; it was a coffee shop just nearby the road. To
my surprise that place was empty, nobody was there
in the counter even. I was all alone standing and
thinking what to do next. Should I wait there at that
deserted place or immediately leave and get wet in
the rain. Just then a guy came neatly dressed in red
shirt and black pants with a red cap and asked how I
may help you. I was surprised and looked here and
there as to how come, he came from nowhere! He said
that he was behind the counter arranging the cups.
He asked me to relax and made my way to one of the
chairs. I was drenched in water so he suggested
having some coffee and he went back to the counter
to bring a cup of hot coffee for me. That guy had a
sweet smile on his gentle face that mesmerized me
and I meekly did what he said. In no time I was
chatting with him and enjoying my mug inside that
warm coffee shop away from the heavy rains and
utter chaos and confusion of the busy, wet road
outside. What seemed only half an hour to me at that
time, turned out to be full two hours when I returned
home. Next day when I went again to that place to
pay my gratitude to that sweet guy, I found him
standing at the back of the counter with his as usual
cute smile. From that day I share a special bond with
that coffee shop that gave me some nice moments and
a very good friend. 9 As my brother and were sitting
in a coffee house discussing the details and planning
of opening our own business, we started
92
CONTRIBUTIONS
93
COFFEE STORIES
where there were lots of things to look at so I
wouldnʹt have to struggle for conversation topics. We
shared a fantastic conversation over coffee, that lasted
nearly 3 hours, and weʹve been together for nearly 16
months and still going strong! A couple I had been
friends with for years invited me to meet them for
coffee. They told me they were quitting their current
jobs and going out on their own in their business. I
was so shocked because they were not the
adventurous type. They had a plan and we discussed
their financial situation as we drank our cup of coffee.
I still remember the coffee shop was playing Bob
Marley on CD. I thought of the creative legacy he had
and wished my friends the best. It was special that
they had thought enough of me to share with me their
plans. They are still in the beginning of their new
adventure. Every time we get together, always for
coffee, there is a brighter countenance and a more 10
fulfilled tone in their speech. I feel good for them
knowing they have made their lives more complete.
Iʹve had a lot of great conversations and awkward
dates at coffee houses. Once I stopped at a coffee
house on the way to work and made friends with the
barista. She had just moved to NYC from Maryland
and didnʹt know anyone yet. Last summer, at the
local coffeehouse, I was served a latté by the best
looking barista I had ever seen. I was a shy girl who
never approached men, but that night was different.
With my girlfriends by my side for support, I slipped
him my phone number and told him I looked forward
94
CONTRIBUTIONS
to hearing from him soon. The next day when I got
out of the shower, I saw a missed call from him on my
cell phone. After playing voice‐mail tag, we finally
arranged a date, and had a successful courtship for
about a month. It didnʹt work out, but that one
encounter gave me the courage to be confident in
front of any guy I met afterwards. I healed from a
severe motorcycle accident that broke all of my ribs
on the left side of my body when I daily made my
little trip to the coffee house for my daily cup of Joe.
Remember… Anything is Possible.
It started out as friends just meeting for coffee and
catching up. It ended in the decision to take a whirl
wind trip across the country for the summer. It was
the best summer of my life. Its funny what can
happen over a cup of coffee.
i went to a local area coffee house ordered my coffee
and sat at a table with my coffee and newspaper, i
had a scratch off ticket and won 500.00 on it while
enjoying my coffee. i thought the table was good luck
and have tried again but no luck yet.
Learned how to make the worldʹs best Cappucino!
My wife told me we were soon to be parents .
I used to have a job that I absolutely couldnʹt stand. I
would wake up each morning dreading the fact that I
95
COFFEE STORIES
had to go to work. Of course I would look for other
employment, but would never end up finding
anything that would benefit me. Across the street
from my workplace was a small coffee house, and my
best friend would come and pick me up each day
after work, and weʹd sit and have coffee together. As
soon as I would walk through the coffee house doors,
I would feel my stress slowly melt away. I would
small the delectable hazelnuts and the cream, and the
sweets behind the counter. Sometimes I would order
myself a hot tea, othertimes a nice treat like a
chocolate mint coffee. My friend and I would sit in
their dining area, which was full of velvety soft,
comfortable couches and talk for an hour or two,
about anything and everything. Weʹd share laughs,
and later, would go our separate ways, both knowing
we had such a good time together. Eventually, I got
pregnant, and became a stay at home Mom. I donʹt
see my friend anymore, she moved far away, and we
lost touch. But I will never forget all of the times we
had coffee together, and all of the smiles I gained after
a horrible day at my job.
I recall one time when my boyfriend and his brother,
Jason, wanted to converse about some things alone.
Jasonʹs girlfriend, Veronica, took me to a nice little
coffee house. Before, I didnʹt know a whole lot about
Veronica. She always seemed pleasant but we had
never really shared any details about ourselves. As
she sipped her coffee, she talked about life, how it
96
CONTRIBUTIONS
was growing up, and some of the experiences she had.
She told me about how she met Jason and how things
were going in her life. I also shared some things
about my life. It was definitely productive and we
were able to bond and become more of friends than
simply aquaintances because we were the girlfriends
of two brothers.
I was at a friendʹs house from my College years. I was
visiting at her place in her home town which was a
four hour drive than where I live. We went to a
coffeehouse. We started to talk about our lives back in
college. She told me all about what happened to
certain people. Everything was pretty interesting to
hear about. then she gave me a hug, and said that she
missed me all those years that we did not talked to
each other. She confessed that she was in love with
me back in school. I could not believe what she told
me, since I always thought that she was way more
popular than me in school. maybe it was the coffee
that we drank. Than she said that she wanted to go
somewhere all by ourselves than for me to stay at her
place, instead of going to a hotel to find a room. She
admitted she loved me, and missed me while we
were drinking coffee! I figured it was the coffee, or
something about me that she liked. I decided to do
what she wanted as long as we were not committed to
anything serious like marriage, and she also agreed.
But that was a big surprise for me, and even for her.
that is my story..
97
COFFEE STORIES
I am a fan of ʺHow I Met Your Motherʺ and since I
first started watching, I have admired this ʺGood
Things Happen Over Coffeeʺ sign hanging in the
kitchen of Ted, Marshall, and Lilyʹs apartment. I
finally decided to look for it and found Retro Planet
was offering it at the best price, so I ordered right
away. The sign is adorable! Itʹs thick, unlike many
thin, flimsy signs, and the vintage paint job is perfect.
The holes are already drilled so itʹs ready to hang! The
sign is going to look just as ʺAwesomeʺ in my kitchen
as it does in HIMALAYA!
The best thing that ever happened to me over coffee
at a coffee house is that I asked the waiter if he liked
his job, and he raved about the atmosphere and good
tips so much, that I put in an application and ended
up with a fun new job.
My story goes way back to the 60s and a New York
Coffeehouse. I went there one night to listen to some
poetry an d have some coffee with a bunch of girls
from college. SOme guys we knew came in and since
it was so crowded, they asked to join us and we made
room for them. Before the evening was over one of
the guys and I were totally smitten with each other.
He walked me home and asked, but was not invited
in. We went on to date for a year and a half and
frequently visited ʺourʺ coffeehouse!
98
CONTRIBUTIONS
99
COFFEE STORIES
100
CONTRIBUTIONS
I am sorry, I have never had anything happen at a
coffee house. The only time I have seen that happen
is in the movies. Normally people here in my town
are too busy to stop and chat and Iʹve noticed they are
reading the paper or working on their laptop.
The best thing that ever happened to me was I found
out that I was pregnant after being told that I would
never have children. My sisters were with me when I
got the call, so we celebrated by buying everyone in
the place a coffee and muffin!
welcome to beans n cream coffeehouse. we are a
bustling cafe located in downtown Sun Prairie and in
the American Center business park. we feature
artisan roasted coffee, hand crafted specialty drinks,
an enticing array of fresh bakery, panini sandwiches
and wraps, homemade soup, and locally made ice
cream.
During my postgraduate study, one afternoon I was
having coffee with a few of my friends. In the
meantime a beautiful girl came with her friend and
got a seat in the table just beside ours. The moment
she entered and I saw her, I knew that something
unusual happened to me. She also noticed me in the
crowd, that I could feel. I looked towards her after
every few minutes and she too. The next day I went
there at the same time and I knew she must come. She
101
COFFEE STORIES
102
CONTRIBUTIONS
At a recent trip to my local coffeehouse, I met an old
friend I went to high school with. This was a great
day, since I havenʹt seen this person in about 30
years(I graduated in 1977). We enjoyed our coffee
together, and enjoyed a few laughs, and caught up
with the happenings of our lives. It was a pleasant
afternoon!
I had my first date at a coffee shop, it was a very
young stage and i didnt had any place to go and took
my girlfriend and finally we went to a coffee shop
and i proposed her over there and finally i got
succedeed and she is todayʹs my wife.
I had been going to this coffee shop in my town in
New York for years and one day awoman came in
who was very attractive.She was by herself.She
looked at me and smiled.That is all that happened
that day.About a week later she came into the shop
again as i was sitting in a booth.She saw me and this
time she said hello to me.I was just about done when
she arrived and as I was leaving I went up to her and
asked her if she lived in the area and she said yes.I
asked her if I can sit down and talk to her and she
said yes.We talked for about 1/2 hour and she had to
go to work.I asked her if I can call her sometime and
she said yes and she passed me her number.I called
her up a few days later so not to seem desperate and
aked her if she would like to go see the Mets play a
baseball game since she had told me she like
103
COFFEE STORIES
104
CONTRIBUTIONS
105
COFFEE STORIES
that week and sold a bunch of them over the holidays.
They were some of her best sellers for the season. The
lip balms taste just like coffee and are so moisturizing
that we had several reorders after the season!
Evidently everyone is tired of all of the soaps and lip
balms that smell like flowers or fruits ‐ and these were
great gifts for the guys, too!
I got an idea of buying car when sat at a coffehouse in
bangalore. I could remember very well that day. Me
and my friend visited a nearby ʺcoffee dayʺ coffee
house and ordered for cappuccino. Suddenly I saw a
reva car on the road and started discussing the pros
and cons of that car with my friend. Finally when I
came out of the house I decided to buy the car.
I am a real estate investor in Colorado and I always
meet with other potential investors at Starbucks for
coffee. I have had two investors sign contracts to do
deals with me at Starbucks. I love Starbucks even
more now!!
The best first date I ever had was over coffee in a
coffeehouse....it was public so things werenʹt too
awkward, but it was still quiet enough that we could
talk and talk. We wound up being there for a couple
hours.
I met an old friend for coffee who had an exciting
announcement about her love life. She had joined an
106
CONTRIBUTIONS
107
COFFEE STORIES
and there she was: waiting a person ahead of me in
line. We talked for about an hour, but she was late for
an audition, so she only had so much time. It was a
wonderful experience.
My experience consists mainly of a first date and
conversation. After meeting this girl on the internet,
we set our first date at a local coffehouse. We just
began with the meet in the store itself and one cup of
coffee led to another to another to another. Before we
knew it the store was closing and to this day I still
drink that same brand of coffee because of it
I had a really great time talking with my mom and
sister with whom I donʹt get to visit with as often as I
would like. My mom told me about people in my
family from a long time ago that I had forgotten about
and my sister told me about the new boyfriend in her
life and how she hopes the relationship will become
serious. It was a great time just chatting with the
women in my family while my husband took care of
my son for me. Our coffeehouse gathering was very
relaxing and it gave me a chance to de‐stress. We all
agreed to continue our ʺwomen onlyʺ get‐togethers at
least monthly so that we can continue to have this
quality time together.
hello, i am new in that hit business. i could fullfill that
job very well. i have own sites since 10 years and i am
an analyst. but as far as i understand i have to do this
108
CONTRIBUTIONS
for 0,05 usd. quality work on that base is not available.
i run also a web radio station: http://www.musicians‐
gear.com/cgi‐bin/play_radio.pl how much would you
really maximum pay ? greetings, juergen keim ‐
germany
Two years ago when I first moved to Pittsburgh I had
what turned out to be an amazing experience in a
coffeeshop. I moved to this city on a Sunday.
Thursday night I was sitting at a coffeeshop that was
about a 15 minute walk from my new apartment. I
was lonely and a little shellshocked from moving to a
city where I knew no one. So I sat and drank my mug
of coffee reading a book just enjoying being around
people and away from cardboard boxes! The shop
was really packed and a young man walked up and
asked if I would mind letting him sit at my table as
there were no other seats. I told him of course and
lost myself in my book again. I noticed he was doing
nothing, not reading a book or typing away at a
computer and was slightly uncomfortable. He did
strike up a conversation lately, I believe he asked it I
was a student. Which lead to a three hour
conversation, we then wandered down to a local
movie theater. We are engaged and we still live in
my apartment and walk down to the coffeeshop every
single Thursday evening to get a cup of coffee after
dinner.
109
COFFEE STORIES
A few years ago, a new date and I went out for the
night. We started the night by heading to dinner,
which didnʹt promote very much conversation. I
think we were both hoping that the movie would
stimulate some discussion. For whatever reason, we
couldnʹt see eye‐to‐eye on certain aspects of the movie,
and so whatever talking was taking place was
strained and forced. As a last resort, he took me to a
local coffee house, and as we were struggling to find
anything to talk about to try to connect with each
other, we saw a couple near us loudly talking about
the benefits of Christianity. We were both transfixed
by this conversation for a few moments, then looked
at each other to gauge what the other was thinking.
Surprisingly, we both burst out into laughter at the
comments the two were making ‐ turns out neither
one of us really believed in organized religion. It took
coffee and someone elseʹs conversation to turn an
awkward night into an awesome one.
My first true boyfriend would take me to the
coffeehouse all the time, we had so much fun just
sipping frozen cappucinos and bonding. It was a
great experience.
Once, over a Venti Mint Chocolate Chip Frappuccino
at Starbucks, my best friend discussed all his
problems with me. He told me about all the obstacles
he was facing and it made me realize that my life
wasnʹt so bad after all. We both figured out a way to
110
CONTRIBUTIONS
111
COFFEE STORIES
met at school. She was from pa, i was a local in va.
She loved coffee and also it was a place for poetry so
we used to always go there and socialize as well as
kick back to some of the bands that played there. It
was surely a popular hang out spot.
When I had an tricky assignment for university, I was
stuck on a problem, so I decided to take a break have
a coffee at a nearby coffee house. When I sat down
and relaxed, after a few minutes, i realized that I was
approaching the problem in a completely wrong way.
I thought about it, without any papers or books, and
then I knew how I had to approach the problem. The
next day, I wrote the assignment and I got a good
grade for it. Thank you, coffee.
I chatted with friends that I have not met up with for
quite some time. My friends recommended new
friends to me while at coffee house. I enjoyed nice
drinks and relaxing hours at coffee house to get rid of
stress.
Coffee is a beverage that puts one to sleep when not
drank. –Alphonse Allais Coffee smells like freshly
ground heaven. –Jessi Lane Adams Suave
molecules of Mocha stir up your blood, without
causing excess heat; the organ of thought receives
from it a feeling of sympathy; work becomes easier
and you will sit down without distress to your
principal repast which will restore your body and
112
CONTRIBUTIONS
113
COFFEE STORIES
114
CONTRIBUTIONS
companies that are ʺgetting down to the basicsʺ if you
will? So, check this out from Washington ‐ it appears
that Java Girls are not to be messed with. They may
not look to be serious about their coffee (to the ʺsnobʺ
in all of us) but they are about seeing their uniforms
on the outside... This from KIRO TV in Washington:
A man dressed in woman’s underwear and
exposing himself drove up to a Parkland espresso
stand three times before one of the baristas threw a
cup of boiling water at him, said the Pierce County
Sheriff’s Office. “Kylie opened the door
and threw boiling hot water on his face and his chest
and he said oooh yeah,†Feddock said. Ridiculous!
While I think the entire idea of wearing bikiniʹs to
your barista job is crazy ‐ a guy wearing womens
skimpies is even crazier. Look man, get a life! Not
only did you look like an ass ‐ you got a pitcher of
steaming hot water thrown down your chest! I bet he
will be looking for the lady that sue Ronald
McDonald for serving her hot coffee! I agree, it
probably has nothing to do with the girls wearing
skimpy bikinis or some of the outer costumes they
don each day for their morning shift but it is strange
that this is not happening at any other espresso huts
in the area. While I still think the idea is a silly one,
donʹt gawk ‐ unless of course you are struck by the
complex tones of chocolate, nuts and blueberries in
your espresso. I mean, they are not wearing that type
of uniform for any other reason than function.... ...be
bold
115
COFFEE STORIES
My friend Dan and I go get coffee together on a
regular basis. We just sit and talk for hours about
anything that comes to mind, new inventions, ways to
make things more proficient, lots and lots of science
and astrology talks. There have been nights when me
have sat and talked about the vast expanses of the
universe and just how everything worked until finally
we realized we just blew our own minds and couldnt
even fathom what we were talking about. Getting
coffee is not just drinking coffee, its one time when
you can just talk... real talk, about anything and try to
come up with ideas about everything.
Reconnected with a friend: I had left work feeling
tired and hungry since I had foregone lunch to finish
some pending work in the office that I had dedicated
my entire week. Still, I was feeling very disappointed
since my boss had rejected the project proposal by
just dismissing the font size on the cover page. On
reaching the coffee shop, I found it fully packed with
people and had to share a table with someone I
didn’t care to look keenly whom it was. As I sat
quietly sipping a steaming cup of coffee, and with my
face hidden in the Day’s Daily, I heard someone
tap the top of the paper. Annoyed, I looked up and
was met with eyes popped out in amazement. It was
my ex boyfriend! We hadn’t heard from each
other for more than two years. We had had a painful
break‐up and didn’t have time to clear the
116
CONTRIBUTIONS
117
COFFEE STORIES
118
CONTRIBUTIONS
I love the coffee house we use to go to. It was a
Internet cafe which was so fun. I met new friends and
ran into old friends. Coffee houses just bring out the
good in people due to the fun, relaxed atmosphere of
it all.
I met my best friend in a coffee house. I just moved to
anouther state,I didnt know people there and he
made me feel like family he was the owner of the
coffee house we ended up falling in love like i said he
is my best friend and now my husband it was ment to
be me moving and i found my soul mate im the
happiest person alive!
I met a wonderful folk musician at my local
coffeeshop. He was only in the area for a short time
before he continued travel to Canada. We hit it off
and he became friends with me and my boyfriend.
My mother adored the musician, and went so far as to
tell him that she thought I really liked him and if he
tried, he could probably get me to leave my boyfriend
for him (?!?!?). He politely told her that I was nearly a
grown woman, my boyfriend was a great pick, and
she needed to be more careful who she talked to like
this. He proceeded to inform her that he would be an
awful choice for me, because he had herpes! My
mother never said a word about it to me. The next
time I was in the coffeeshop, he told me the whole
story! What an awesome guy. Sadly, though, he
119
COFFEE STORIES
120
CONTRIBUTIONS
had lost their jobs, begging him to drop out of art
school and get a job to help make ends meet. And he
did just that, though he never found a job. There we
were, sitting at a tiny table, his coffee black, mine with
cream and sugar, sighing the afternoon away and
sharing our troubles. What came over Brandon was
almost as instantaneous as someone flicking a
lightswitch and illuminating a room. ʺWhy donʹt we
start our own business?ʺ At first I thought he was
crazy, but the more we talked about it, the more
feasible it became. To cope with our low start‐up
costs, we used recyclable materials we found around
our homes to make jewelry and home decor and
accassories. To distribute, we started with a free
online website. Slowly, we gained funding for swap
meets and festivals. We handed out business cards
and educated our consumers about the benefits of
recycling. And to think that our green company, now
growing strong, started all over a cup of coffee.
Many greatthings tend to happen at these social hot
spots. Itʹs a great place to meet if you donʹt feel like
doing up your house too. My small group of friends
used to meet at a place that had sweets and coffee,
did the place up really nice. Couches, coffee tables,
then actual tables and chairs, WiFi spots and more. It
was just awesome. We shared many special and really
fun times while there that none of us will forget for
years to come.
121
COFFEE STORIES
122
CONTRIBUTIONS
My husband and I had our first date over coffee at a
coffeehouse. We try to make it a point to go back on
our anniversary. We have been married over 5 years.
He did not pay for my drink that day, and I took it to
mean that he was a non‐chauvinist and a saver. I
knew I wanted him.
One time at a coffee house in Chicago I met a this girl,
Barbara. She was working at the place that day and I
was home on leave from the Army hanging out with
a friend. She made me a peppermint coffee drink and
we started to talk. It was there that I found out that
she was a former ballerina aspiring to become a
firefighter even though she couldnʹt have weighed
more than 100 lbs. We ended up staying at the place
till close talking and flirting with Barbara and before
we left she game me her number at me and asked me
to wait for her to finish closing. After she closed we
ended up going to Dennyʹs having more coffee and
sharing more stories about anything that came to
mind. When the night started to come to an end we
kissed and ended up sharing my hotel room that
night. This was first time that I fell in love at first
sight. We stayed in contact and ended up dating for
about 2 months.
I do alumni interviews for a university. I interview
high school seniors who have applied to the
university in a coffee shop near my home. I have
been incredibly impressed by their intellect,
123
COFFEE STORIES
124
CONTRIBUTIONS
up and went to listen to the Lord.ʺ (1 Kings 19:11‐13).
A man was sitting behind us and listening to the
study intently. Afterward, he found out what church
we attended. The next Sunday he walked four miles
in ninety degree weather to attend. We spoke after
service and he had an amazing story to tell. It seems
that he had planned on killing himself that evening.
He was sitting in the coffee house and smoking his
last couple of cigarettes contemplating which way he
preferred to die. When my friends and I came in the
door he was instantly attracted to me. He sat nearby
in hopes he could hear what I was interested in so
that he would know how to pick me up. Then he
could at least have one last good night before he died.
Instead, God spoke hope into his life. For years he
had decided that God had abandoned him. Heʹd
asked for a miraculous sign as proof of Godʹs
existance and love but none came. This little Bible
study taught him that he had to stop expecting the
sky to split open and hear a great big voice scream,
ʺYes I am here and I love you.ʺ He learned that if he
stood still and listened that God would speak to him
in a whisper. The man gave his life over to God, who
in turn healed him and gave him purpose to his life. I
stood up at his wedding ten years ago. I am proud to
consider him one of my best‐friends and I still drive
him to church every week.
One time while I was out at a coffee shop with some
friends, we got talking about what we all did in our
125
COFFEE STORIES
spare time, and a few of us started talking about our
writing. It was great to learn that several of us were
writers of one form or another, and we were able to
trade information on publishing and distributing our
work. It was really nice, and because of one of the
ladies that I talked to, I am now a published poet!
It’s really exciting to finally have my work out in
the world after years of writing, and it never would
have happened if I hadn’t gone out for coffee that
evening!
I was sitting in the coffee shop on my universityʹs
campus when a foreign exchange student from Korea
who I knew from class asked if she could join me.
Shortly after our conversation began it turned to
talking about the persecution that she had faced in
her life for being a Christian. She has stayed true to
her faith despite being rejected by her family and
even her country. Her testimony was life changing. I
was inspired to stay strong through my own struggles
with the faith because of what she told me that day
over coffee.
At a coffee house I had the opportunity to get a great
counseling session from the minister at my church.
He made me feel at ease about my job loss and really
filled me with hope for the future, that everything
will be fine.
126
CONTRIBUTIONS
127
COFFEE STORIES
blank seat so that she sat down alone. She wanted
permission from me for sat down beside me. I give
permission her delightly. She also ordered for a cup
of coffee. In this time my coffee entered to my table. I
drink the coffee with very fluently. After a while i
asked her if she was first date for the coffee house.
She answered politely that she come here 2 or 3 times
in a month with her friends. But that day her friends
were busy and they couldnʹt accompany with her. I
want to know that what she was doing then? She
answered that she is a Dhaka Universityʹs students
and trying to get a part time job. Then i gave the
information about the mturk website that she may
share some times by this site. I also give information
about the whole site how to use the site. She gave a
lot of thanks to me. I was also pleased to her. But, i
wonʹt see her in that coffee house in the next time. I
asked the matter to manager of that coffee house. But
the manager gave not answer properly. This was my
memorable experience story in the coffee house.
Thatʹs for why i share the story by this site.
I live in a small college town in Mississippi, and our
local coffee house seems to be one of the best places to
hang out. Although we now have a Starbucks on
campus, this coffee shops products are far superior.
Iʹve spent many hours within this shop reading,
studying, talking, laughing, connecting, and drinking
coffee, of course. The chairs in the small upstairs area
are soft, plush, and comfortable. Iʹve went to that
128
CONTRIBUTIONS
coffee shop to skip school, have some of the deepest
conversations about politics and music, and even
break up with a boyfriend. If there were a place in
town that I would ever be sad to lose, it would be that
coffee shop.
I am a federal law enforcement officer and was
stopping at a coffee shop for a quick cup of coffee. I
noticed a federal fugitive I had seen a bulletin on the
day before. I followed him out ot his car and arrested
him without incident. After I handcuffed him I
helped him finish his coffee he just bought. I thought
it the only right thing to do. I was afraid he might try
throwing it on me so I gave him the coffee myself
after I had handcuffed him.
I got the chance to meet a very important person, it
was really great.
Last November, I met the previous owner of my
home at a coffee house. There, we signed the final
papers to make the house ours! We moved in the next
day. Pretty exciting, in my book!
At our Favorite Coffee Day in 7th Block Jayanagar,
Bangalore (India); many things have happened in my
life. It was the first time i went out of home for studies
to a new place, met new people, stayed alone and
learnt a lot. This coffee day was our hang‐out place.
The four of us had just become friends, the coffees
129
COFFEE STORIES
gave us a reason to spend time together and get to
know each other. It was the same place where I
introduced my boufriend to my friends and the same
coffees helped him to get accepted among my
friends... It was a big thing for me! And finally, this
was the place where i met my in‐laws for the first
time. Canʹt really visualise any other place when i
think about those days. Now Iʹm married to him and
we are in Delhi. Coffee Days are rarely seen here (as
compared to Bangalore) and they bring back all the
memories and bring a smile on my face!
The epiphany I had while dunking a sugar raised
donut into my extra large, dark roast cup of java was
being able to hear for the first time ever my best
friend saying, ʺYour job is making you physically
ill . . . . You need to create an alternative for yourself.ʺ
Up to that point, I kept coming up with a million
reasons why it was important/necessary for me to
hang on to this job that paid well and had great
benefits. Her observation made me really look at how
my toxic job was physically making me ill and
resulting in me using denial in an unhealthy fashion.
I spent 7 months getting myself financially ready for a
transition, left my company, and started my own
business. Although I am definitely making
significantly less money, I have more control over my
life, I live closer to my work, and I have more time. I
can now cook dinner every night rather than drag
myself home and wonder whether I should just have
130
CONTRIBUTIONS
a grilled cheese. It was as if the coffee had cleared out
the cobwebs in my brain and made it possible for me
to hear.
I went to a coffeehouse with one of my friend in
India.The name of the coffee shop was Barista which
is a leading brand of coffee house in India.We were
talking when a middle aged man came with his two
kids.The moment the kids came in the shop they
started shouting,screaming touching things and
disturbing everyone.I thought what kind of rowdy
kids the man is having.The man did not say a word to
them.Everone in the shop was staring at the kids but
theman to whom the kids belonged had no effect.I
could not talk to my friend as the kids were really
disturbing.I finally got up and went towards the man
and told him to teach his children some manners.The
man plainly said that he has just come from hospital
where his wife died few hours ago and he does not
know how to explain this to his kids and himself.I
heard this and got frozen.From that day I realized we
shoul d never perceive any person or situation
without knowing its background.As it is said
perception colors the vision.
One day i was at startbucks having coffie. When i
glanced over and saw this amazingly hot guy. He
wasnt the type of guy i thought would go for
someone like me. However he came over to me and
just sat down and started chatting with me. My first
131
COFFEE STORIES
thought was OMG this guy is bold.. he was super nice
and so sweat a package deal by the look of his keys
with had a Porsche key on it.. I thought score for me..
he gave me his phone number and 5 years later we
have 2 children together and are happily married. I
am now a devoted patron of startbucks!!!! gotta love
coffie
I once met a client for coffee at a coffee house. The
meeting was to inquire about the client buying life
insurance to cover his mortgage in case something
happened to him. We began by just chatting about
family and work. Then we moved into the sale. I
captured the sale and it was one of the biggest sales I
have had since the mortgage was quite large. I also
made a new friend. As we chatted we determined we
had a lot in common. To this day we are friends and
enjoy outings together.
A good coffee house is like a pink bakery box. The
bakery box is the universal sign (ok, maybe only the
national sign) of wonderful things to come. Very few
of us can deny that the mere sight of a bakery box
usually guarantees a warm, fun and delicious
experience. A friendly and aromatic coffee house can
provide the same experience for the senses. With so
many people feeling invisible and irrelevant these
days, a warm, inviting coffee house can be a ʺport in
the stormʺ. Imagine being recognized and greeted by
the barista, perhaps they even remember your
132
CONTRIBUTIONS
133
COFFEE STORIES
because if one person is at the coffee shop and wants
to call spur of the moment, we can easily still meet
I came up with an amazing script for a thrilling
motion picture, E.T., while at a coffee house. ‐ S.
Spielberg
I decided to start an open mic event weekly at a
Borders Bookstore while having coffee in their cafe. I
also happened to work at the store so it was easy to
propose the idea to the store manager who agreed. I
advertised the event with flyers at the college I was
going to, and managed to have a turn out of at least
30 people a week to my surprise. It was something I
did for 4 months, and enjoyed very much.
Unfortunately all we did is go to girls and talk to
them. Once i paid less for the coffe because i had not
enough money for the ceapest coffe. In Netherland
you can buy mariuhana in a coffeeshop.
I had a first date in a coffee house. I was very
nervous and so was he, in fact, he was so nervous that
he spilled his cup of coffee on my shoes. Well I
cleaned up my feet, and he got another cup, that
stayed out of my range, and since then we have gone
on to getting married and havng kids. We still go to
that same coffee house and order the same thing on
our anniversary. We have now been married for 8
years, and will continue our little tradition.
134
CONTRIBUTIONS
My story is a little different. I didnʹt fall in love, nor
did I get a brilliant idea. I received a call from a friend
who I hadnʹt seen in years, she wanted to meet me at
a local Star bucks to catch up on our lives. She did ask
if I could scan are send her some recent pictures of all
my grand babies and their birthdays. So I did. When
we both got to the coffee shop, she had made me a
wonderful colorful calendar full of my grand babies
and their pictures. It was a great meeting.
I once fell in love in a coffee shop. I met her when I
was going for my morning coffee and i had some time
to kill. So i ordered my drink and looked for an empty
seat. It happened to be crowded that day as it was a
busy and beautiful fall morning. However, there was
one seat available next to a beautiful brunette reading
the morning paper, I made my move. I asked if it was
alright to take this seat, she replied, ʺYesʺ. I soon
asked her for the sports page and a conversation over
the upcoming playoffs ensued. Soon I had her
number and asked her out days later, we are still
together today. Love can happen over a cup of coffee.
I used to belong to a knitting club that met at a local
coffeehouse on Wednesday nights. There were about
a dozen of us that would show up there with our
knitting projects and work on them together, share
ideas and patterns, swap yarn, and chat about our
lives. The club sort of fell apart when several
135
COFFEE STORIES
members moved away at once, but while it lasted it
was probably one of the most fun groups of friends
Iʹve had.
While at a coffee house I met my girlfreind!
What great things happen over coffee at a coffee
house? Have you ever had something great happen
over coffee at a coffeehouse? For example: fell in
love, ...
My husband I use that time to reconnect without the
children and have quiet adult conversation.
I spent many of my teenage afternoons in a coffee
shop down the street from my high school. Instead of
learning to multiply fractions, I was learning to
smoke cigarettes and like the taste of coffee, one bitter
cup at a time. I thought I was so edgy and creative,
making ʺartʺ with the tinfoil liners from the cigarette
packs and doodling on paper napkins. I played
footsies with the bad boys and held hands under the
table with another girl. These were truly some of the
best days of my life.
There is a little cottage‐like coffee house in Los
Angeles called ʺStir Crazyʺ that I believe may have
been the very last place where you could still smoke
inside. The coffee was terrible, but the combination of
pews, wicker furniture and magazine racks situated
136
CONTRIBUTIONS
137
COFFEE STORIES
I was broken hearted at that time and I had to study
for a major exam. Hanging out at the coffee house to
study helped me a lot. And I sure did aced the exam!
England is gradually being invaded by the big
coffeehouse chains. Itʹs a relatively new concept for us,
but weʹre liking it. The great thing for me? My
husband takes the children out on Saturdays so thatʹs
my day off (Iʹm a full time homeschooling Mum). Iʹll
order something luxurious like a decaff caramel
macchiato (Iʹm a caffeine‐wuss.) Just saying the name
makes me feel like Iʹm a character in Friends. I find a
book or a magazine to read. I sip. I linger. I pull out
my journal and scribble for a while. Write a few pages
of a book Iʹm dreaming will be a bestseller. I lose
myself for a little while ‐ or rather I lose my reality
and get in touch with who I am, what I want. I
recharge myself, restore my sanity, relax. For me right
now thatʹs the equivalent of going on holiday, all for
the price of a coffee.
Well, I was once an internet cafe nerd and was sitting
at the local cafe, Expresso. I was just minding my
business, doing the usual, World of Warcraft, when I
noticed a sweet looking senior start to struggle with
all her carry out buys. Being the good samaritan that I
just so happen to be, I started towards he to see if she
needed any help, I was hoping she wasnʹt going to be
one of those stubborn seniors who try to do
138
CONTRIBUTIONS
139
COFFEE STORIES
140
CONTRIBUTIONS
141
COFFEE STORIES
I was sitting in Urban Stampede in Grand Forks, ND,
having a cup one cold November day. I looked
outside the window and there was a woman walking.
She was wearing very tight bright red pants, and
purple halter top, and a long, faux cheetah fur coat.
She also had on a wig that looked like red yarn. I
remember my first thought was ʺOh good lord,
doesnʹt she have a mirror.ʺ Then I looked at her face a
little closer. She had a gleam in her eye. Not a gleam
of humor but a gleam that hints at an underlying
madness. That made me think a little bit. What right
did I have to judge other people based on how they
were dressed. I hated it when people made
assumptions because I was heavy. I despised that no
one could see past the fat to the interesting,
complicated, wonderful woman underneath. How
was I any better judging this poor, ill woman because
she was so busy trying to make the world make sense
that she didnʹt really pay attention to how she dressed
or even that she thought she looked wonderful. If I
was going to make progress towards allowing that
wonderful woman show through to everyone I met, I
needed to stop making the very kind of snap
judgements that prevented people from really
knowing me.
In college, Iʹd go the coffee shop to get away from the
world for a little while and to have a quiet place to
study other than the library. But, often, friends would
come in and sit down on the comfy couches with me
142
CONTRIBUTIONS
and provide a very welcomed distraction from my life.
The coffee shop also provided me with some warmth
and feelings of home because I would always go and
order hot chocolate and it would remind me of the
hot chocolate my mom used to make for me.
I met my girlfriend in a coffeehouse on the new year
eve (31 dec 2008).there i had a gerat first date.A lot
can happen over coffee.from that day i have met her
sevral time in the same coffee house n i enjoy
spending time there.
As per my normal routine, I entered the coffee house,
stood on line, ordered the same thing that I do
everyday, and waited for my $5.00 drink to be
presented to me. While waiting, I saw a homeless
man begging for spare change from passerby. I
cannot tell you how guilty I felt with my $5.00 coffee.
I promptly got back on line, ordered a hot chocolate
and delivered the hot chocolate to the frigid man
outside. He was grateful for the act of random
kindness. For myself, I never purchased a $5.00
coffee again (I make mine in the office now). In
hindsight, I could not believe that I did not realize
how wasteful I was being.
My friends in college and I had a favorite hang out
called ʺcorner cafeʺ. It is there we had our coffee and
lots and lots of conversations about life. It is where
our friendship strengthened as each of us had secrets
143
COFFEE STORIES
to share. Corner Cafe is no longer in business but we,
the ones who couldnʹt get enough coffee and
conversations are still friends even after 10 years.
I met my current girlfriend at a coffee house. We had
met online a few weeks before and I chose a coffee
house to meet her in person. The meeting went
extremely well (thereʹs nothing like the laid‐back
ambiance of a coffee house to relax and stimulate
interesting conversation). I also find coffee houses to
be great places to write, muse, and think. Alain
Anchorage, AK
well I went to a coffee house to meet my friends, i got
there first and no one was there so i order me a coffee
and got a table. as i was drinking my coffee i seen a
man staring at me so i look back he was cute. It took
him 5 minutes to come to my table but we talked for
hours and he is now my husband
One day I went into Starbucks to get myself a cup of
joe. I went up and was ordering when I saw someone
walk in. Guess who it was! It was Brian Urlacher. I
was in shock. I went up and asked for his autograph
and I got it. Later, I sold it on ebay for 635 dollars.
Amazing what coffee can do.
The idea of starting a business that spoke to my
creative side has always been floating around in my
mind, but I was always practical and stuck with my
144
CONTRIBUTIONS
145
COFFEE STORIES
146
CONTRIBUTIONS
147
COFFEE STORIES
I fell in love with my boyfriend ... now husband ... at a
coffee shop in another state. Every now and then we
find ourselves back in that area, and we always visit
that intimate place. It has really marked a lot of
milestones in our life. An engagement, a marriage, a
pregnancy. I feel so tied to this place, and love
sharing my lifeʹs milestones over a white mocha.
The best thing I had happen over coffee at a
coffeehouse was I fell in love with a man who gave
me a beautiful daughter.
I hang out at a cute little shop called Java nʹ Jive. One
cold night me and some friends were hanging out
there and it was open mic night. This absolutely
lovely man named Dick seranaded the little coffee
shop with piano‐accompanied show tunes. He is the
sweetest man. Even though weʹre all between the ages
of 16 to 20 or so, he fits right in with us, tells us stories
about the past and is generally hilarious. Sometimes
heʹll buy us beer. LOL! But yeah I love hanging out in
cafes like this. Theyʹre great for chill conversations...
which last forever because youʹre high off caffeine!!
I met a lovely man named James at the coffee shop
three months ago. He had been told the day before
that he had esophageal cancer and even with surgery,
would likely live only six months. I looked for him
again on days when I stopped in to buy coffee. He
148
CONTRIBUTIONS
lost weight very quickly in the next few weeks and
was so sad. His family lives far away and he was very
lonely. The day before his surgery was scheduled, he
shook my hand and said it might well be the last time
he saw me. It was a month later that I walked into the
coffee shop and bumped right into James! He was
very thin, but he was smiling. The cancer was
completely contained, and they removed all of it.
James has a future again, practically a miracle. Iʹm
glad.
My best experience over coffee at a coffeehouse was
getting engaged! My love had arrived before me and
made arrangements for the waitress to bring out the
ring on a dessert plate with my coffee. Needless to say,
it was a very memorable evening.
I had a chance to go to coffee with a great friend of
mine about a year ago. It wasnʹt anything
particularly exciting, or groundbreaking, or had
anything that would make it stand out in a typical
personʹs mind. However, it was just a time where I
really enjoyed her company and was able to connect
on a higher level than most.
great business idea, met a nice girl, enjoyed the music
I am so lucky to have the most wonderful little
coffeehouse right nearby! Itʹs small, cozy,and has live
entertainment on weekends. I actually did meet the
149
COFFEE STORIES
man I was GOING to marry (til I broke up with him),
and had my first date with the man I DID marry. Iʹve
spent hours on my laptop working on business ideas
for my childbirth education business, built a website,
met connections with the chamber of commerce, and
went into labor! Lots of memories!
I once started a new business as I shared coffee with
two friends. It was a consulting firm, that did not
ultimately do well, but the dreaming of things over
coffee really connected the 3 of us and we are friends
still today.
I was at a Starbucks on a very chilly night ‐ sitting on
the patio. When I looked over my shoulder there was
a ridiculously large snake wrapped around the
shoulders of a young woman. I freaked out! It was
that night that I realized my (ex) boyfriend didnʹt
interest me at all. I had been sitting there bored out of
my mind but thankfully, out of the blue, slithered a
snake who made my night exciting.
I met with a realtor over coffee at a popular
coffeehouse. I was back in town and needed to buy a
place quickly because I was staying with friends and
was anxious to move out of there. We looked at the
place I ended up buying that day. I closed on my new
place within a month and lived happily ever after!
150
CONTRIBUTIONS
151
COFFEE STORIES
the Dr and not the nurse, she told me that I in fact was
pregnant. After three years of trying, two of
treatments and three advanced treatments I was
finally pregnant. And now I am the proud mom of
triplets.
One time i had a blind date at a coffee house. It was
a small little place in new york city. I sat there with
this guy that i hardly knew and ordered a slice of pie.
He ordered pie too and i thought how odd he wants
keylime pie. The pieʹs came and we sat and looked
out over the city. I then realized right there that pie is
what i love. I figured out right there that i love to
bake and it take all kinds to eat what you make. I
remember the moment like it was yesterday. The date
wasnʹt so great however if i didnʹt go on that blind
date i would have never realized how much i like to
bake. I would have never put in motion my idea to
open a dessert cafe.
Itʹs a strange thing to have found at a coffee house,
but there it was. My girlfriend and I had gone with
friends to a local coffee house, The Blue Lion in
Peircton Indidna. Iʹd known about it for years but
never been, our friends had just discovered it and
were quite taken with the place, so we decided to go
have a coffee and a simple dinner as they served
sandwiches, simple coffee house fare. We spied the
menu, and saw they had a steakburger. Odd but my
friend had had it before and said it was really good.
152
CONTRIBUTIONS
So I decided to give it a try, and was quite pleasantly
surprised. Iʹm not much of a beef guy, but that was
one impressive burger, not to mention the bun is
baked at the coffee houses bakery. The whole
experience was quite fun, a new place to visit, and the
company of good friends. Not an extraordinary tale,
but it is nice to take joy in the simple things now and
again.
I was having coffee with a friend and 3 friends of his.
We had all decided to go to the caribbean together for
vacation so this meeting was to discuss the logistics.
Unfortunately my friend had to back out due to a
huge work project and 2 of the other people decided
that they could not really afford the trip. This left me
and a guy who I really did not know well going
together on the trip, so we decided not to go either. I
had really looked forward to this vacation so I
decided to go by myself. This decision to go on a
vacation alone led to my taking the path less traveled.
I went on vacation, fell in love with my scuba
instructor, moved to the Caribbean to live with him.
He lasted 3 years but I stayed on living the island
paradise life for 8 years. All this because over coffee 3
people backed out of a vacation.
It was a sunday morning when he called me on my
phone and we decided to have coffee at a coffee day
at bangalore.Tat morning was very fresh and cool. I
was waiting for him to pick me. Tat was my first ride
153
COFFEE STORIES
on the bike with him. It was so wonderfull. He picked
me and as I was sitting behind him I could smell the
odour of his fresh deodrant. He saw my hair flying in
the air through the side mirror and smiled. And that
sweet smile took my breath away. We finally
reached coffee day then we got settled at a corner of
the coffee day. Our eyes met each other and tat was
the first time I was silent else I am very talkitive. As
we were chating, it suddenly started raining heavily.
He was starring me. With a red rose in his hand he
told me how much he loved me. His love is as deep as
an ocean, as high as sky,as warm as sun and as cool as
moon. It was so romantic to sit hand in hand and all
those lovely talks can never be forgotten. The love in
our hearts was spilled out through our eyes. Thanks
to tat day which told me tat my love is right beside
me.The first romantic day of my teen age arrived with
the first rain of the season and the first ride gifted me
my first love of my life.
Coffee talks have become the foundation of what my
friend and I would call ʺlife talks.ʺ These talks
essentially consisted of our thoughts on women,
business, and success. We are in the process of
opening our first business together and it was actually
the ʺlife talksʺ at the coffee shop that helped develop
our business plan.
After spending yet another amazing night at my
boyfriends house we went to the coffee house around
154
CONTRIBUTIONS
the corner. We were chatting and out of nowhere he
asked me to move in with him! We lived together for
a year and frequented that same coffee house every
weekend. And yes! It was there that he asked me to
marry him! We have been married now for 5
wonderful years!
Having coffee at the campus coffee house .I have had
professors flirt and other men.That makes a woman
feel good.And met a new friend that owns a
bookstore on campus also.And flipped my daughter
out that mom is so popular.
The best thing that ever happened to me at a coffee
house was the time when I was there just having a
normal conversation with my friend and she and I
were talking when she just stopped and noticed this
guy who walked through the door and she looks at
me and tells me im not going to believe it but she
thinks my ex boyfriend just walked in. See I used to
gush to my friend about my ex and how I hated that i
had to leave him but because my family was military
I had no choice but to move. My friend had see tons
of pictures of him and basically felt like she knew him
because I talked about him so much. Anyway my ex
and I had lost touch years after I moved away and I
hadnt seen or heard from him in all that time. So you
can imagine what a suprise it was when i turned
around and saw him. My heart just jumped in my
throat I didnt know weather to run up to him and
155
COFFEE STORIES
give him a hug or just cry. Turns out he joined the
military and got stationed near where I moved but
because he hadnt talked to me in so long he figured i
was long gone by then. I guess it was fate because
now 3 years later from that day in the coffee house,
we are together and happier than ever!
I had just moved to suburban Cleveland and had
been stopping at a small coffee shop every now and
then because of their fabulous Polish pastries. Being
of Polish ancestry, I enjoyed chit‐chatting with the
owner. As time went on, the conversation became
more personal, and we discovered that our respective
grandparents had immigrated to the United States
from the same small town in Poland, not far from the
Ukrainian border. My grandparents had been gone
for several years, and no one else in the family had
any information about any relatives that might be left
in Poland, but the owner of the coffee shop still had
contact with her relatives in this small town. I
provided her with whatever information I had
(surnames, dates of birth, etc.), in the hope that I
might be able to get some tidbits about any of my
distant relatives that might still be in this town. A
few weeks later, I got a call from the owner of the
coffee shop. She was excited and said, ʺyou need to
come over now!ʺ When I got there, she greeted me
with a huge smile and with tears in her eyes. It turns
out that she was a distant cousin ‐‐ her maternal
grandmother and my maternal grandmother had
156
CONTRIBUTIONS
157
COFFEE STORIES
amazing how sometimes it can make you think about
your own life. For example, I met an older man once
told me about his family. He made me think about
my own family. While I never saw him again, I can
say that our conversation changed the way I
communicate with my own family.
I was going through some really bad times at 17. I had
done been through 3 foster homes and 2 groups
homes and was ready to give up. I was drinking alot
and just wasnʹt being a normal teenager. Then a
friend told me that I needed to check out the local
cofee shop in town. I always figured that coffee shops
were for people older than me, but I loved
cappocuinoʹs so I figured that I would give it a shot,
and I am so glad I did. I met the owner of the shop,
and he wanted to have a place for people like me to
come and get their lives straightened up. By the time I
was done with my first cup of coffee I done had 3 new
friends and enrolled in the alcohol and drug group
that he had. I went to that coffee shop everyday until I
moved a year later, and it saved my life. I cleaned up
my act, had a great support system and got Aʹs in
school. I will never forget my times there. Over the
years the name has changed, but that feeling I had
wonʹt.
Iʹve had some fun experiences in coffeehouses ‐‐ Iʹve
talked to people and met them and learned about
their lives. I have made friends. I havenʹt had any big
158
CONTRIBUTIONS
159
COFFEE STORIES
160
CONTRIBUTIONS
161
COFFEE STORIES
daughter and now, we own the chain of coffeeshop. 8
shops and hope to add 1 more by mid this year.
My friends and I meet at our local coffee shop on
campus once a week. Most of the time we just end up
working on the corssword, but once we came up with
a great cartoon that ended up in the campus paper.
I could never forget the story at Starbucks ‐‐ where it
all began, where it all started. I am a coffee drinker ,
mid 20s and usually drinks two cups a day. One fine
day, I dropped by to get my usual order of coffee and
to my surprise, my boyfriend happens to be there as
well ‐‐ who lives 12 miles away from that coffee house.
He was also drinking coffee and was already eating
dessert. So naturally, I sat down with him and asked
him what he was doing there and agian, to my
surprise he pointed towards the next seat and told me,
ʺHushh..Iʹm reading... Would you mind if you go to
that table, and maybe some note was left for you?ʺ .
And so I did. And when I got there and read the note,
it said, ʺHello, Old friend. Could you drink this cup of
coffee for me?ʺ THere was a cup of coffee right beside
the note and so I drank it. As soon as i finished it all
up, a barista gave me another note (written on a
napkin) and said, ʺMiss, I think this is for you ...from
that gentlemen over there..(and he pointed towards
my boyfriend)ʺ , and so I read it again, and it said,
ʺJaymee, will you marry me?ʺ. And to my surprise, he
was already kneeling down before me , holding my
162
CONTRIBUTIONS
ring. I cried. And of course, what else to say but YES!
YES! YES! From then on, I will forever cherish that
particular branch and cofffee house where we first
met, where he proposed and where the desserts will
come from on our wedding day. Such a beautiful
story. I just had to tell it.
Over a great cup of coffee I thought that em and some
friends would have ladies not out and that it was
going to be a good thing. I thought that we would do
a little shopping and then we would maybe go to the
movies and just have fun with each others. There will
be kids and no men for this ladies day out and also
there will be no take about kids and our men. We
would just do some thing for ourselves and that
would be it.
It was a great day when I found love, I was living in a
town near Niagara Falls, small town and one of the
few things you do is go hangout at your local
Starbucks or go to the movies. I was in my usual
section, self‐improvement finishing reading a book
called never eat alone, when it came to my mind
never read alone. So I started a conversation with a
nice girls sitting not far from me, and out of pure luck,
she just happened to read the same book not long ago,
so we started a conversation about the subject, which
became a 3 hours long conversation, and it was love
at first site. We both were enchanted by the other one.
Was unrealistic, esoteric, unbelievable. We took it
163
COFFEE STORIES
164
CONTRIBUTIONS
165
COFFEE STORIES
166
CONTRIBUTIONS
167
COFFEE STORIES
DIRECTOR OF THE FIRM I AM WORKING! I learnt
it after three or four months of my joing date! This is
an extradinarey experience I had in my life.
I moved to Canada 2 years ago from Michigan and
left behind all my old friends and my family. I went
back for a visit last month and met up with an old
friend from highschool that I havent seen in 7 years.
We ended up going to Starbucks to get some coffee
and ended up having a great time catching up. We
had spent 3 hours sitting there talking and drinking
our coffee, which was actually gone within the first
half hour or so. But after catching up we decided to
make a better effort of seeing each other more often. I
think that if we didnt go to get coffee we would have
ending up talking so much. Theres just something
about a large foamy latte and a comfy couch to sit in
that brings people together.
My marriage is love marriage. Usually we meet in a
coffee shop and shopʹs name is coffee cafe. After 8
years of love we left our home without our parents
permission. After marriage i met my father in a coffee
shop that is an unmemorable event happened in my
life.
When i was a senior in High School i was fortunate
enough (or maybe delusional) to take Microbiology at
the local Community College. I was very shy and
really disliked how the only open seat in the class was
168
CONTRIBUTIONS
next to a short skinny boy with a snug ball cap that
hid his eyes. As the days and weeks went on we got
more comfortable with each other. I found out he
worked full time and took night classes; he was 23
and i was 18. We soon started a tiny notepad that we
would pass back and forth while the teacher went on
and on about gram negative bacteria. Our joking
banter soon turned into flirtatious twitter. It was a no‐
brainer when he invited me to study with him at the
local coffee house. I knew we were going to study,
but in the back of my curious, overly imaginative,
mind i was hoping for something more... for I had
only kissed one boy before. I didnʹt wanna act stupid
so i tried to keep my giggles and blushing at bay as
we discussed topic after topic and wrote copious
amounts of flash cards. I think we must have went
through 2 cups each of Snickerdoodle with double
shots of espresso before he started loosing
concentration, ʺaccidentlyʺ making his feet bump into
mine. Oh My Goodness!! I was playing footsy
underneath the table at a public coffee house with a
boy... rather a man, who 5 years older than me! :) As
the hours went on we both could tell we were not
getting any productive work done and so he asked
ʺdo you wanna go somewhere else where we can
study in peace?ʺ Long story short, The Kava House
was the gateway to my first ever real make out
session... I guess my study partner meant go
somewhere where we could study Anatomy. Ahhhh,
good times :) I got my first C grade ever with that test.
169
COFFEE STORIES
Oh, and remember that snug ball cap... i still have it :)
March 2009 recalling March 2000 as if it were
yesterday. Krystal C.
I met the love of my life at a coffee house and it has
been 5 years that were together now and iʹll never
forget the first conversation we had it was stupid but
it brought us together. We have all the same interests
and never get on each other nerves.
One time at a coffee house, specifically panera i got
some mad intense wifi. Tis was no ordinary WIFI it
twas free Wifi. Aint no betta wifi than free wifi.
Coffee shops always make me smile because itʹs
where my best friend and I of 20 years reunited after
not seeing each other in over 5 years. So I hold a
special place in heart for Starbucks.
One of the great thing about coffee house is you can
come with your husband on the weekend and it could
your sanctuary. This is where my husband and I come
on Saturday to share thoughts about our week. We
talk about our dreams, and the dreams we have for
our family, and sooner our later both of us become
sentimental. Although we have known each other for
a long time, we still date and flirt at the coffee house.
It is a tradition we have every weekend. Our
valentine celebration is special because it occur at the
170
CONTRIBUTIONS
coffee house at well. After a cup of coffee we would
stroll the street under the star lit sky, holding hand.
In October of 1996, I was sitting in the campus coffee
shop waiting for a guy I was seeing. We had been
dating for about a month. I was attending Western
Washington University and he lived about 50 miles
away. I was excited to tell him about a meeting I had
gone to earlier in the day about spending a year
abroad. We had spoken before about how much I
had always dreamed about going to Ireland and it
looked like I might get the chance. He finally arrived
and I started telling him about my plans to spend my
junior year in Ireland studying environmental science.
He seemed happy for me but I could tell that there
was something else on his mind. I was telling him
that I was going to talk to my parents and I should be
signed up for it by the end of the week. He got very
quiet and just stared out the window. After a few
moments of silence, I finally got him to tell me what
was wrong. He said that even though we had only
been seeing each other for a month, he had fallen in
love with me and couldnʹt handle me leaving for a
year. I was shocked and didnʹt know what to say. I
tried to process what he had said and I finally started
to cry because I realized that I was in love with him
too. He asked me when he would be able to ask me
to marry him and I told him whenever he wanted.
He got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife
right in the middle of the coffee shop. I said yes and
171
COFFEE STORIES
172
CONTRIBUTIONS
173
COFFEE STORIES
I had been, well, flirting with this girl for about a
month. Nothing really serious, just little bit of fun, but
when I finally got around to asking her out she
turned me down. Turns out she had a boyfriend. Still,
we were friendly and would joke around a little. After
a bit of it I said I wasnʹt asking her for a date, but
wanted to buy her coffee and she agreed to meet on a
Saturday morning. We sat outside Starbucks for more
than three hours just talking about this and that and
drinking coffee. It was the start of a wonderful
relationship, because there was no pretense of dating
just a couple friends getting together. This became a
regular occurance, as weʹd meet several times a
month to talk. On one of these occasions she asked
why I never asked her out again. She replied with a
laugh, ʺI broke up with him weeks ago!ʺ That night
we had dinner and it was the start of a great
relationship.
I recently went for a coffee at my local coffee shop. I
sat down and picked up a newspaper which had been
left on the table. I wanted to read the headlines of the
day but was more interested in what the previous
reader had written on the paper. It had lotʹs of
writing on it, like ʺI have had enoughʺ, ʺHe never
listens to me anymoreʺ, ʺWhat am I doing here with
himʺ. I wondered what had happened had two
people been sitting there a few minutes before and
someone had been writing all these comments about
174
CONTRIBUTIONS
someone?? Who where these people and why did she
write all that stuff. I never got to read the newspaper,
I finished my coffee and realised sometimes your
problems are not nearly as bad as other peoples.
I had great study sessions at university with friends.
We hung out for hours at a truck stop coffee shop
with the traditional bottomless cup of joe. Open 24
hours a day. Great atmosphere.
I seem to seek slight approval from all of those
around me. ʺTall Mocha Latteʺ Reaching for the cup
my mind races. Is my skirt sticking to my butt? Is the
foam from my latteʹ now on my shirt as I adjust my
skirt? Did I leave my cell phone at the counter? Oh
my God did I even get the right drink?
Adjustments made I sip slowly and realize that no
one is looking at me, no one really cares about my
skirt, my phone, my latteʹ. I am there awarkdly
running through the things that really no one notices.
Everyday life no matter how simple or how difficult
must be met with an ability to be at ease with our self.
NO ONE IS LOOKING!
I met a complete stranger at a local coffee house who
had the most beautiful eyes. I got his number and
weʹve been dating for six years now.
I actually enjoyed having coffee at our local Paneraʹs
in the mall by myself. One morning, I noticed an
175
COFFEE STORIES
176
CONTRIBUTIONS
177
COFFEE STORIES
During the breaks we woudl go and sit in the coffee
house and chat over a cup of coffee. One day as we
were sitting, on of my friends asked me, ʺWhy donʹt
you stand for the election for President of the
Studentʹs Union of the University?ʺ I said, ʺMe?
never! I have better things to do.ʺ The others joined in
and they all felt that i was most suited for figthing the
election. I was skeptical as i had never ventured to
join any election process. I wanted to get out of it, but
they were so voceferous in their arguments taht
ultimately I had to give in. my coffee had turned cold
and i said, ʺOk if you want me to stand for the
election, get me a hot cup of coffee first.ʺ I not only
stood for the election. but also won by a very good
margin. I took all my supporters to the coffee house
and gave them a treat.
It is where I take my teenage clients because they get
so excited to act like grown ups, be in a public place
and drink really sweet (and expensive) drinks.
My future husband and I had our first date at Tim
Hortonʹs (coffee shop). It was very late (we both
work nights) and we were looking for something to
do. Tim Hortonʹs was open, so we decided to go in
and have a coffee. We sat for a couple of hours and
chatted over coffee and pastries. We fell in love that
night and about six months later he proposed. Got to
love late night coffee!
178
CONTRIBUTIONS
179
COFFEE STORIES
180
CONTRIBUTIONS
place. We wanted to make sure that the table was big
enough for three, relatively private, and also
comfortable. Iʹll never drink coffee there again
without remembering our first three‐person date.
Things that have happened to me at a cafe? *Had
ALONE time...which is SO important for a stay‐at‐
home‐mom! *Spent time conversing with my husband
without distractions from our toddler *Eased myself
to awaken *eased myself to relax so I could sleep once
at home * shared cookies with my son :) * Shared
dessert and a break with my mom *As a family, weʹve
taken our own breakfast (like a picnic) to our local
cafe, then purchased coffees and treats to embellish
our morning out meal with! WHAT FUN!
I had the best blind date of my life at a coffee house,
which led to my marriage. I met someone on an
online dating site and we chatted for a while. We
decided to meet at a local coffee house. It was love at
first sight. We dated after that, and ended up getting
married
I am able to sit down, relax, unwind, sip a cup of joe,
and carry on a conversation with a friend or stranger.
Itʹs nice to have that kind of friendly interaction with
anyone.
181
COFFEE STORIES
wlaked into a new coffee house in the area, met my
girlfriend, now together 4 years, will propose next
month
Best thing: had coffee with my DENTIST after my
appointment, and learned so many great things about
her and her family (she was originally from Iran ‐ and
we lead totally different lives!).
A chance meeting over a spilled cup of coffee (spilled
in my lap that is) lead to our marriage a year later.
We still go back every year on our anniversary to
celebrate. (Without spilling the coffee that is.)
Most evenings my husband and I take a walk past a
coffee house in the middle of the city, next to a
bookstore that has 32 rooms of books. What is nice is
that during the summer, the coffee house takes over
the sidewalk. There are tables outside and people
sitting at them, using laptops or talking with each
other. Sometimes people are reading. The coffee
house maintains a dish of water for passing dogs. As
we walk, we thread our way between the tables and
watch people working and enjoying themselves. Itʹs a
little bit of Paris in a midwestern city.
yeah quite interesting thing with me... i met her first
at CCD (Cafe Coffee Day) proposed her at CCD and
then after marriage first outing was at CCD :)
182
CONTRIBUTIONS
During a buisness meeting with a prospective client, I
not only closed the sale but met my current wife. Not
bad for a cup of coffee.
During the past year, our mother was suffering from
dementia. She had been a joy to us all of our lives,
and it was difficult for my sister and me to deal with
the changes we were seeing in our ninety‐one year
old mother. We decided to meet at our local
coffeehouse each day before we were to go to care for
her. When we were there, my sister and I began to
reminisce about our youth, our mother, our families,
our lives. Our mother passed away several months
ago. It was difficult for our entire family. My sister
and I realized, however, that we had grown closer
than we were because of our coffeehouse meetings.
How cliche. I fell in love. Over three years (04‐07), my
girlfriend Natasha and I courted over coffee at
starbucks. Weʹve been together since July 07...
The last time I was at at coffee house, I ran into the
love of my life. I havenʹt seen him for years and years,
and there he was. I was so floored as was he. I
invited him to sit with me so we could catch up. We
sat for 3 hours just talking, laughing and walking
down memory lane. It was time for me to go to work
so I gave him my email addy. He wrote to me almost
immediately. That was 6.5 months ago and we have
been together since!
183
COFFEE STORIES
While reading and enjoying a cup of coffee, a guy in
his early 20ʹs ran in while holding his arm which was
covered with blood. He grabbed some napkins to
clean up and the person behind the bar gave him
some wet paper towels. All cleaned up, he sat near
me so I asked if he was okay. He was on his bike and
a car cut him off so he yelled at the car and took the
tennis ball from his pocket and threw it at the car. It
hit the car, bounced back and went right under his
front wheel knocking him to the ground. He said at
that moment he understood something about anger.
He said the ball represented his anger and when he
directed his anger at the car, it caused more dammage
to him than it did the intended recipient. So be
careful where you direct your anger.
I met the man of my dreams while on a business trip.
I walked into a Dunkinʹ Donuts for my morning
coffee fix and he walked in right behind me. He
struck up a conversation while we were in line and
we havenʹt stopped talking since then! This was 1
year ago.
I met private investigator to find out the truth about
my spouseʹs infidelity which changed my view on life.
I met a really great friend at a coffee house. My
friends and i were hanging out having some cofee
and we met the most interesting guy. he was at the
184
CONTRIBUTIONS
table beside us. we started talking and found out we
all had so much in common. We often set up times to
meet at that same coffee house.
I went to a coffeehouse with a few people from my
singles group a few years ago. It was a nice change of
pace, since we went in the middle of the week. This
place was actually in a building that was set up like a
big house. There was even a band playing at that
point. It was a relaxing evening.
I had an experience to share at a Cafe Coffe Day
outlet at Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. We were a group of
4 people who hadd gone for a birthday treat. Enjoying
the cup of Coffee with rain hitting the roads outside,
one would get a perfect ambience to enjoy the day.
Suddenly I saw a poor urchin who was shivering and
completely drenched. What inspired within me, I
went to that poor, and much to the surprise of my
friends and the other persons around, I came inside
the coffee house with that boy and we together had a
cup of coffee. Going back, I fealt a sense of satisfaction
with myself. Someone rightly said, a lot can happen
over a Coffee.
It was 10 minutes before the close of the stock market.
I was going to meet some friends for a sandwich
lunch at the cafe downstairs, and proceed to a
meeting outside the office so I had my laptop with me.
A friend calls me with news about the failure of AIG.
185
COFFEE STORIES
186
CONTRIBUTIONS
was sitting on an empty table without an owner in
sight. It was one of those cheap pens that businesses
bought by the thousands to give to potential
customers to spread the word about their services.
This one was for a local bank. There wasnʹt anything
special about it beyond the fact that it had a bankʹs
name, address, and phone number on it. But it was
special to me because it was something I found in my
favorite place in the world.
During my time at college, a lot of things happen to
me over coffee. This particular time, i was getting my
coffee and my crush walked in. He sat at the table
across from mine, and it was there that he asked me if
one day we could take a walk. I know it sounds weird,
him wanting to take a random walk, but it turns out
that he wanted to take a walk, so he could aks me out:
properly. :)
There is a Dunkin Donuts down the street from my
house that my neighbor Joey and I often visit. In fact,
during the summer we went there almost every night.
One night, like any other, we were sitting there
drinking coffee and watching CNN on the television
mounted on the wall and I looked over to my left and
saw a familiar face. It was a kid named Derek who I
had grown up with for twelve years before I moved
away. I hadnʹt talked to or seen Derek since the move
which was about five years ago. I almost didnʹt
recognize him heʹd grown up so much. I immediately
187
COFFEE STORIES
remembered all the days and night we played outside
together, swimming in his pool to having snowball
fights. I wanted to go up to him and talk to him but I
didnʹt know what to say. I didnʹt want to miss the
opportunity to I went up to him and just said ʺHi!ʺ.
He recognized me and stood up to give me a hug.
Then he came over to our table, I introduced him to
Joey, and we sat and talked about all the things we
did when we were kids.
MY BROTHER PHONED ME FROM TEXAS AND
SAID HE WAS COMING IN TOWN. HE HAD A
FAVORITE COFFEE SHOP WE WENT TO WHEN
WE WERE YOUNGER. HE ASKED ME TO PICK
HIM UP AT THIS SHOP. I MEET HIM THERE AS
PLANNED AND THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I
MET MY WONDERFUL SISTER‐IN‐LAW!! WE
LOVE COFFEE SHOPS BECAUSE THEY ARE
RELAXING AND GREAT COFFEE AND SWEETS!!
A babker lost his Nokia phone. I get it, and connected
with the banker than. He came back ,praised me, help
me getting my frist loan from Bank. Yeah! It help a lot
for my business.
When I was a freshman in college I went to a local
coffe house with some of my classmates. We were
able to hang out and get to know one another a little
better while relaxing, listening to the live
entertainment, and enjoying some of our favorite
188
CONTRIBUTIONS
drinks and snacks. It helped a lot of the group grow
closer together and some are still friends now 6 years
later!
I had my first job interview at a coffeehouse. I was
able to have an informal chat about my taste for coffee
with the interviewer who happened to be a coffee
aficionado. This informal chat helped to impress him
with my communication skill and eventually I got my
first job!
fell alive, be with friends, start a new day, you feel so
awake, It will keep your positive, It will make your
mind high, changed your feeling of being sleepy, you
will be sleepless
On a trip to London, my three friends and I were
taking in the sights on Kings Road when we
happened to pass a coffee shop and went in to sit
down for a while and have a cup of coffee. We were
in England to buy antiques for their store in the USA
but my three friends were also looking for a flat they
could purchase in London. One of my friends was
very personable and friendly and he noticed an older
gentleman sitting alone nearby who seemed
engrossed in our conversation. He was such a typical
English gentleman in his manner of dress and looks
that my friend invited him to join our table for a cup
of coffee and some conversation. The gentleman
obviously knew we, three men and myself, a woman,
189
COFFEE STORIES
were Americans, and surprisingly he joined us. I say
ʺsurprisinglyʺ because he seemed so much like what
we Americans would call a ʺstuffed shirtʺ. We
chatted and confided to him our plans for buying
antiques and for my friends to purchase a flat, if
possible. My friends were rather well‐off, and could
afford something quite decent, but they were new to
the way the country handled loans, sales, etc. It turns
out that the rather dapper, older English gentleman
sitting with us was the vice president of one of
Englandʹs most prestigious banks, AND he also had
what we Americans would call ʺa titleʺ. He was Sir
so‐and‐so. My friends opened an account at his bank,
purchased a lovely townhouse just a few blocks from
Harrodʹs and we were all invited to Sir Tʹs home on
Berkeley Square for cocktails one night before we left
England. All in all, quite a successful little trip into a
coffee house!
As my brother and were sitting in a coffee house
discussing the details and planning of opening our
own business, we started brainstorming and
scetching logos. Before long we had 6 or 7 sctched
out and we were having a very difficult choosing one.
As we sat there and discussed it a woman walked by
and stopped. She pointed to one of the logos and
stated that it was amazing and we should use it. She
stayed and discussed why she liked it so much over
the others. We ended up choosing that logo and have
gotten many complimants on it.
190
CONTRIBUTIONS
I met my wife at a coffee shop. I already had this
typed up elsewhere so I paraphrased it a little for you.
My friends and I would hang out at a coffee shop
near our dorm. The counter people knew us by name‐
‐and order. Theyʹd even let me get away with
ordering a shot of just flavored syrup in tap water‐‐an
excellent beverage for those of us whoʹd previously
spent all of our cash on lattes and hot chocolate.
Anyway, one such gathering of friends, plus a couple
extras led to me getting squished into the corner of a
booth, and I crawled under the table. I think
somebody was jabbing or teasing me, but thatʹs
largely irrelevant. Despite the light‐hearted taunts
and soft kicks I remained under the table for at least
half an hour, continuing to join the conversation and
tickling or poking people as the urge struck me.
Finally I decided to emerge, and when I did, I noticed
that there were two new people sitting at the end of
the table. So I grabbed a chair, sidled up next to the
girl on the end, and asked her how she was doing.
She gave me an honest answer, something about her
mom giving her a hard time on the phone, instead of
the mindless small talk I was expecting. And thatʹs
how we met.
when i lived back in akron ohio, there was a coffee
shop across the street from my house. i went there
every morning to read the paper, drink coffee and
socialize. i met so many great people, had wonderful
191
COFFEE STORIES
192
CONTRIBUTIONS
193
COFFEE STORIES
read the paper each morning before school and drink
my coffee. Most mornings, a man I thought was quite
attractive would come and sit at the table next to me,
drinking coffee and reading the paper also. Soon, we
began to comment on different things in the paper or
the weather or even the coffee. The next thing you
know, we were sitting at the same table. Soon, our
conversations turned to things other than the paper.
His name was Mike and it wasnʹt long before he
asked me to join him for a walk after work, then
dinner, and soon I met his family. To make a long
story short, we ended up getting married. That was
twelve years ago. We now drink our coffee together
on our patio at home!
Every few months or so, sometimes longer, my wife
and I meet two of her cousins at the coffeehouse to
play catch up. The get togethers usually last several
hours and contain a wide variety of conversation.
They are big on family gossip and the stories they tell
will have you laughing to yourself for days. These
meetups also served as a support group during my
mother‐in‐laws fight with cancer as well as her
cousinʹs father, which both were at the same time.
One time when I went to a Starbucks in Turkey with
my boyfriend, I happened to ask for ʺa bit of iceʺ to
put in my drink; my frappuccino was on the verge of
melting. Anyway, the barista handed over an entire
cup full of ice cubes and my boyfriend and I took a
194
CONTRIBUTIONS
195
COFFEE STORIES
196
CONTRIBUTIONS
197
COFFEE STORIES
The first date I ever went on started at a coffee shop. I
was not allowed to go on ʺdatesʺ untill I was 15, so
one night my cousin was in town and this guy I had
been secretly been dating wanted to go on a real date.
So That night my mom dropped me and my cousin
off at the movies. As soon as she was out of site we
ran to the coffee shop and met my date. That night I
got my first kiss there in the coffee shop. I will never
forget it!
One of the best things that ever happened to me at a
coffee house, involved meeting a very nice lady who
was very conversational and who I wanted to get to
know better. Weʹve been friends now for several
years.
I once had a great experience at a coffee shop, which
was also somewhat creepy. I walked into our local
coffee shop and saw my friend from the golf team, a
boy, who was with his girlfriend. He acknowledged
my presence and even came over to ask how I was
and such. All the while his creepy girlfriend had a
dead lock on me, she would not stop staring at me. At
first I felt a little uncomfortable but then ignored her
and kept talking to him. A great ending is that a year
or so later him and I started dating and I looked back
on that story all the time and canʹt help but laugh.
I met my husband at a coffeehouse. I had just moved
over to the US from the UK and knew barely anybody.
198
CONTRIBUTIONS
199
COFFEE STORIES
200
CONTRIBUTIONS
week at school and all kinds of ʺUSʺ stuff. Itʹs great
we both look forward to it each week.
I have heard Great things happened at coffee shop
but these things never happened to me. day before
yesterday i have heard from my friend that he had
got an great idea about bussiness at coffee shop .i
thought may, i also get any thing great with that
hope ,i went to the coffee shop and thought that my
business also, may reach to the top of the world with
the fame , respect and blessings of the elders .i was
sitting at the coffee shop and suddenly, i got an idea
to extend my bussiness with great new scheme and
publicity throu these scheme to make people aware of
my cheap and quality product and in this way i
proceeded with my idea and made my business
aware and consumer friendly.
i actually fell in love with my husband at a starbucks
coffehouse. This was our first date and i wasnʹt quite
sure if i wanted to continue on with him so after just
sitting there with him and talking i knew he was the
one.
I grew up in Kent, Ohio. Going to coffee shops was
very cool in the sixties and I met my first husband, a
musician in one. This particular little shop was right
across from Campus and always crowded so I hardly
ever tried to get in. I ducked in the coffeehouse door
during a particularly nasty, snowy and cold day, only
201
COFFEE STORIES
to find it crowded with no seats to be found, as usual.
I started to turn to go back out the door when I felt a
tug on my coat sleeve. It was a guy from a band in
Kent, a friend of a friend, gesturing for me to have a
seat as he scooted over, patting the seat near him and
smiling up at me. I sat...and fell in love. A few months
later we were married! I loved that man until the day
he died [always will, actually] and to this day canʹt
walk by a coffeehouse without a bittersweet feeling of
love and loss in my heart.
I work in design. Itʹs a challenging field with a lot of
choices at to what type of work to conduct. It also
requires very complicated software. So, over coffee
(and over four years), I started a mutual support
group for other designers. Weʹve met together and
talked about educational initiatives, web resources
and job connections. Most of us, as a result now serve
on industry advisory boards at local technical colleges,
and weʹve not only helped members advance their
careers through networking, weʹve also saved one
another countless frustrations by sharing tips and
news about our tools and industry changes. I really
think that if we hadnʹt had good coffee to stimulate
our minds and get us going and excited, we wouldnʹt
have accomplished half as much.
We had a class reunion in a local Coffee watering hole?
We had a great time remembering the things we did
in college, and re‐enacting some of the crazy things.
202
CONTRIBUTIONS
A few years ago, i was having a cup of coffee and
taking my time before i go home. i was just watching
kids walk around and how they run and being chased
by their parents. and also watching shoppers what
they bought for the house or for the kids or for the car
or looking at the window shoppers whatʹs lattest
cellfone. and for sure i was looking for those nice
beautiful ladies on the mall, suddenly this chick walk
in front of me and i said to myself, i score this lady 7
from scale of 1 to 10 she was really nice, around 5 feet
3 inches in height , around 25 years old, short black
hair. i was really appreciating her beauty then
suddenly this guy walked to her and hold her hands,
then i looked at the guy and recognized him, he was
my classmate in high school, i can still remember him,
he was the type of guy who does not like women, i
can say that in our time he was even scared or
courting girls, then suddenly i saw him with a
younger female, it was nice to see him with a wife
now, i was just smiling to myself when they left, it
was nice to see him, now i can say, at least a friend on
mine did not grow old alone...
I met my wife on a blind date at a coffee house of her
choosing in Palo Alto, CA. We sat and chatted over
coffee...a day later I found out she doesnʹt like coffee.
9 years later she still doesnʹt like coffee.
203
COFFEE STORIES
Sharing coffee (or tea as we usually drank) in a coffee
house kept me out of trouble (or at least the worst
kinds of trouble) when I was young. It was very cool
back in the 60ʹs to hang around in coffee houses and
listen to local musicians or poets. It gave us a place to
go as teenagers where we could feel cool and grown
up (only years later did I realize how young I really
was) and it kept us off the streets. It also instilled a
love of music and going to see local musicians which I
still do ‐ some things you never outgrow!
I have had multiple wonderful conversations, getting
to know people in a much more intimate way.
My boyfriend took me to a very romantic dinner to
celebrate our one‐year anniversary. Afterwards, he
took me to get coffee and we sat outside and
discussed our future together! It was then and there
that I knew we would always be together.
When I was younger I used to meet guys offline.I
know that was not very smart considering some
could have hurt me but it was the only way I was
comfortable meeting a guy.If I talked to a guy in
person I would just start shaking and get really
nervous so I get to know them first online and then
meet them.I met my boyfriend of 5 months at
starbucks and it was the most amazing thing ever.We
had so much in common and he told me I was very
gorgeous.
204
CONTRIBUTIONS
Not to me personally, but over a cup of coffee, I
overheard a man and his boss having a chat about his
performance, and from what his boss was saying, it
appeared that the man was about to be getting a
promotion that he wanted... until the boss said that he
was fired. Oops.
I was about to graduate with my associateʹs degree
and decided to apply and transfer to a bigger and
better college that would challenge me more. I got
accepted and am heading there in the fall!
I walked into the coffee shop slowly, not sure why I
was going in. I didnʹt really like coffee, anyway. But,
then, I might as well get away to somewhere. I felt
the need to be around people today, for some reason
today. I never tried espresso. But It’s was my
best friends favorite coffee. She would always tell me
that in the United States, very few coffee shops have
mastered the exacting process by which espresso is
made. I placed my order and sat down next to a gray
haired man reading a book. When he looked up at me
he said with a toothy grin and a heavy German accent
ʺHi there. Whatʹs your name?ʺ . We exchanged our
names and he replied “this isnʹt like any another
coffee shop here they make the best espresso it taste
like you have just left the country and got your self a
real cup of Joe. As I thought to my self wow he can
read my mind. The waitress called that my order was
205
COFFEE STORIES
up. When I turned around to take my seat again. The
old German walked out the door. I went back the next
weekend wanting to talk to him but I havenʹt seen
him sence.
I was able to reconnect with a friend that I had not
seen or heard from in three years. We where able to
talk about her family, what I had been up to and,
what happened to her ex‐husband.
Many interesting things can happen over coffee at a
coffeehouse..when i went to have a coffee at a coffee
house with my wife. She deeply looked into my eyes
and with lovable smile on her lips she said me that
she loves me very much.It was the happiest moment
for me.
I had a wonderful first date at a coffee house. I met
my long time boyfriend on a blind date at a small
coffee house in Manhattan, and we laughed, shared
stories, and got to know eachother over coffee.
I never liked coffee until my sister took me to a local
Starbucks. Then, I fell in love! I went everyday and
could not get enough coffee!!
Coffee houses provide an un‐intimidating
environment for many potentially awkward meetings.
One such meeting I can recall is when I reconnected
with an old friend I had not seen in 10 years. Of
206
CONTRIBUTIONS
207
COFFEE STORIES
208
CONTRIBUTIONS
209
COFFEE STORIES
I made friends with the coffee girl behind the counter.
This girl was truly a beauty (at least in my eyes). She
couldnʹt have been more than five foot four. Her
brown eyes peeked through her long blonde hair. I
started off by asking her if she like serving expensive
coffee to college students every day. She replied by
hinting that they wouldnʹt know the difference
between folgerʹs and an expensive import. Smiling, I
took my 3 dollar coffee back to my seat and tapped
away at my laptop. When I was finished with my
report, I walked back to the counter. She smiled as
she saw me approach. We exchanged phone numbers.
I still havenʹt called her,
My best friend and I were extremely angry at each
other for two months due to boy troubles. When we
decided that it was time to talk and make up we met
up at a coffee shop and had tea. We talked frankly
about what had gone wrong and what we wanted to
do to help our friendship. over coffee we explained to
each other that we missed one another and wanted to
make up and be friends again.
The business plan for my first real entrepreneurial
outing was hashed out on the back of a paper
placemat. That business is a thriving, living
multimillion dollar entity today!
210
CONTRIBUTIONS
211
COFFEE STORIES
212
CONTRIBUTIONS
old son. I asked her if she had references, we sat
down for an hour and a half at the coffee shoppe, she
said she was in her 3rd year of college for child
psyhcology, she was perfect. I asked her to come over
for a weekend trial. She ended up being our nanny for
2 years and has become an extended member of our
family. She recently started working at the hospital
for chilldren with terminal illnesses. My Husband is
home and I get to stay home with our son now. If I
hadnʹt gone to get coffee that day and not have taken
the chance to ask her to sit down for coffee and
doughnuts for a while, I donʹt know what would have
happened. It all seemed to work out perfectly, all just
from going and getting a cup of coffee!
Yes.I worked at a coffee shop in early 2008. As I got
off my shift, I decided to mix up a blend of ʺObamaʺ
coffee for myself‐‐ a blend of Kenyan, Sumatra, and
Kona coffees. Not only was the coffee delicious, but it
got some wild tips from my customers. I used those
tips (and then some; they werenʹt that wild) to buy a
plane ticket to Detroit, Michigan, where I volunteered
with the campaign until election day. I realize that itʹs
not a story of love or even friendship. But that pot of
coffee did mark an important decision in my life.
My girlfriends and I go to the coffeehouse for a
respite from our kids and our spouses, housework,
gardening and cooking. Itʹs a time for US: to put on
some make‐up and get out, time to get our troubles
213
COFFEE STORIES
off our chests, catch up on our lives, and have some
good belly laughs at the same time. Thereʹs no
alcohol involved, so nobody has to be a designated
driver, and weʹve never had to hide somebodyʹs keys
from her. We bond.
For a long time, it was a big mystery to me why coffee
shops were so heavily associated with sociality. What
was it that made people so much more willing to
express themselves? And not just more willing, but
seemingly more able. Do coffee beans hold some
secret power to boost brain cells? It even seems as
though people are more creative when holding coffee
house discussions. I came to an answer several years
ago when I started to frequent coffee houses. They
hold this power because we give it to them. We
designate them, consciously or not, as a place where
you have great thoughts. With that said, Iʹve never
had a huge moment in a coffee shop. Rather, their
usefulness for me comes as changing the way that I
think, a bit like a series of miniature epiphanies.
Minute changes to my base philosophy and religion.
It is these that define me.
I was once at a coffeehouse when I drank far too
much coffee and got this wild caffeine rush. In the
course of that wild caffeine rush, sitting at a table
with my laptop, I wrote the first 10 pages of my
senior thesis after a week of writerʹs block. The thesis
214
CONTRIBUTIONS
215
COFFEE STORIES
First let me say that I LOVE coffee houses! I frequent
many different ones. My personal favorite is The
Mean Bean here in my local town. I remember when
my husband and I were going through a very difficult
time‐‐we had both lost our jobs within 4 months of
each other‐‐and we were at the local coffee shop job
hunting via their free WiFi. I was sitting there
sipping my chai and watching my husband search
when I saw a post flip by that said ʺjust ask.ʺ I sat up
in my chair and said ʺWait a minute!ʺ That was the
beginning of us starting our own business called...Just
Ask!
I met a great group of women at a coffehouse. We
meet once a week and share with each other our highs
and lows in life, and help each other through them.
Weʹve been meeting at that same coffehouse for 5
years now, just because of that one chance meeting!
once my friend had called me to the coffee day to give
birthday party.i met his friend and we had a
wonderful chat till afternoon and finally i fell in love
with him. good things happen at coffee day
Iʹll make it brief and Iʹll keep it clean: I was
propositioned by a lovely blond Dutch girl in a coffee
shop in Holland (Harlem). This was amazing as far
as Iʹm concerned as I am a really ordinary looking
guy and she was a babe; add to that the fact that she
hit on me. It was too good to be true.
216
CONTRIBUTIONS
My shy partner is so comfortable at the independent
neighborhood cafe that started up a couple of years
ago that he now enjoys meeting neighbors there and
has become more social and participatory in our
neighborhood which I think, in general, strengthens
interconnectedness in a healthy way.
The greatest thing that ever happened over my coffee
at a coffeehouse was cream and sugar mixed with
gravity and a spoon. For that reason, I stopped
drinking coffee. I am diabetic.
I went on a blind date at the local coffee shop. Was a
great way to meet someone that I didnʹt know, and
the casual location was fantastic with no pressure
either way.
I was working on a story for my creative writing class
at the local Starbucks when a man came in asking for
directions. The staff behind the counter was unable to
help him and they asked for my help. They know that
I had lived in the area for many years and could
probably help him out. He was looking for a little
known resort area in the community and I was able to
help him out getting to where he was going. As I was
drawing out his map on a napkin, I noticed he was
scanning through the story on my laptop screen. I
finished his instructions and he handed me a card
with his name on it. I glanced at it & quickly noticed
217
COFFEE STORIES
218
CONTRIBUTIONS
219
COFFEE STORIES
One of my daughterʹs most memorable birthday
parties took place in our favorite coffee house. We
reserved the back room for about six friends and
planned a princess tea party birthday. We brought
our own tiara cake, but ordered frozen lemonade and
snacks from the coffee shop. Planned activities
included watching a princess movie on the portable
tv/vcr we brought with us. We also made tiaraʹs and
wands for the girls out of beads and pipe cleaners.
The party was a hit and we took pictures of the girls
in their newly created princess accessories! The
owners of the coffee house were so helpful and
gracious and a good time was had by all.
I am currently working part time and had my hours
shortened, and so to make extra money, I have began
to babysit again. I had a woman contact me about
watching her son. She wanted to meet with me first to
talk and to see how well I interacted with her son.
Everything went well and she has hired me to help
her out on an as needed basis. The pay is great and I
have sat for her more than three times now. We meet
at a local coffee shop, where she bought me coffee,
and we bonded over the type of coffee we were
drinking, and how similar our families were.
220
CONTRIBUTIONS
221
IDEAS
225
COFFEE STORIES
of the man who was drinking coffee there when the
woman walked up to him and asked him to help her
with her coffee shop and he ended up marrying her
daughter. That is a great beginning! For the
opening theme song, Sweet Surrender by Sarah
McLaughlin. Then, the plot would be a series of
vignettes in which the characters, who are friends of
friends (Love Actually meets Six degrees of
Separation) go through their lives, ordering coffee in
the morning before work, or stopping by on dates,
and showing some of the other stories in the ten
pages of coffee stories. Here is some I would use:
Woman who sold her handmade purses to ladiesʹ
boutique over coffee Woman who met her husband
after he managed to intimidate the moron who was
initially hitting on her. The knight in shining armor
role is ever popular for nice guys, who, by the way,
do not always finish last. Guy who met with his
supervisor for job review over coffee and got a raise
and a promotion. The guy who survived a horrific
accident and came to coffee house after he got out of
the hospital. The plot should build up to the guy
with the accident coming in. Everyone talks about his
accident on and off throughout the movie, and you
find out more about the accident and what actually
happened to him, and he comes in at the end and
everyone is happy to see him, and everyone is
drinking coffee and having fun and that is the end of
the movie. Please let me know what you think! This
sounds really cool!
226
IDEAS
i think a good movie would be about a child that has
no parents. a begger. but he likes to sing, and can do
it very good. he sings on the street for peoples, so
they give him money. one day he is seen by a man
who takes the kid home. the kid maybe sings at a
party and so on. he becomes famous.
Coffee is a universal drink and itʹs one of the few
things that can bond us together in this game called
life. So yes, I think that ʺCoffee Storiesʺ can and
should be developed into (at the very least) a website,
especially if you can get coffee advertisers to help
support the project. Coffee shops like Starbucks,
Saxbyʹs, Caribou Coffee and small private cafes could
have placemats or table tents directing customers to
the website ‐‐ and of course, youʹd always be
soliciting more stories. I think thereʹs lots of
potential for ʺCoffee Storiesʺ to grow. How about a
section on favorite coffee recipes? I bet you didnʹt
know that one of the ways to make chocolate cake or
brownies even more chocolately is to add .... COFFEE!
Yes, strong coffee added to chocolate brings out the
flavor. Iʹm not sure if a book would fly, especially in
this economy. A movie is a definite possibility.
Think of the casting possibilities! Hope this helps!
How about printing them up as a pack of coasters for
coffee shops to use? You could sell the ʺcoffee storiesʺ
227
COFFEE STORIES
as a promotional tool for the shops to use with their
customers.
I like the idea of a website with and you would get
some interesting stories which could be compiled in
to a book. A movie may be a good idea. It would be
a good idea to make it up out of short stories rather
than just one theme based around it. I can help with
writing and some editing and I like the name ʹThe
Coffee shopʹ as a title.
Title: From Birth to Death in the Coffee shop The
stories should be arranged chronologically based on
the age of the person telling the story. Youʹll need
more stories from very young and very old people to
do this, but I think it might work. Start out with a kid
that goes to the coffee shop with his mom, and then
someone having coffee for the first time, then a first
love and more relationships, then maybe starting a
business, and someone else having a family, and
finally someone towards the end of their life passing
on wisdom in the context of a coffee shop. Use the
coffee shop to tell the tale of the modern human
existence; it would be a new twist on the coming of
age story with something for everyone.
Coffee Shop Stories would make in interesting book
or movie . Exploring the notion of experiences in a
coffee shop through the eyes of generations, in the
Kerouac days when shops were considered seedy
228
IDEAS
right up to the present age of Starbucks and bikini
clad barristas. For a book or a movie focus on how
(no more than) three diverse customers experience the
same shop over span of years and how the changing
times affected them and their place. I would be very
happy to submit storylines in a collaborative effort.
i really like the stories they were really warm, the
whole time i read them i imagined a irony of
connection between characters, kind of like crash , but
feel good romance comedy. i thought it had every
possibility of becomung a feel good comedy romance
movie. Called like The Finesʹ of fixed Fines of
confession of a Fine
I think that the different stories that you have
collected about coffee shop encounters should
definitely be made into a book and a movie. The
book can be title coffee stories. Many different stories
iʹm sure have consisted of love and of business deals
and places where best friends have been made. A
book could have been written in a coffee shop. There
are many great experiences that have been made in a
coffee shop. The movie could not just consist of one
person but of multiple going through their
experiences while being in the coffee shop. I think itʹs
a great idea and that it should be implemented!
I donʹt think this collection could be made into a book
‐ the stories are too similar and they donʹt really touch
229
COFFEE STORIES
you. What I think this could be turned into, however,
with some work to the stories and some effort to find
more diverse scenarios (not necessarily true, maybe
have people write fictional encounters at a coffee
shop?), is a series of short films together. Little
vignettes about moments in a coffee shop, sort of like
Paris, Je Tʹaime, except instead of a city and its
neighborhoods, you would have short moments of
different people and lives intersecting in a coffee shop.
I think that could be really cool.
I was working at a popular coffee shop. During one of
my shifts my friend’s boyfriend walked in with a
girl who was NOT my friend. I had never me him
before so he didnʹt know that I was friends with his
girlfriend. I had seen his picture on my friend’s
myspace. I served them and as soon as I could I texted
my friend. He stayed drinking his latte in the shop for
awhile which gave my friend time to get there. She
hailed a cab as fast as she could. When she walked
into the place she spotted him immediately the look
on his face was priceless. She grabbed the latte and
poured it all over him. He never found out how she
knew that he was there. Oh myspace…
I definitely think Coffee Stories could be adapted into
an engrossing, entertaining, and creative film. I see it
as taking place in a single coffee shop, and we can see
all the different interactions and each story taking
place. As one story ends, we see the next person walk
230
IDEAS
in and sit down, and their story begins, and in the
middle of their story we see another person walk in
and sit down, but we donʹt pay them any attention
until the end of the current story, and we transition to
them and begin their story, etc. It would have to be
done very carefully, but could be very artistic and
inspiring. Iʹm thinking soemthing vaguely similar to
Crash, where we meet all these people and move back
and forth between them and at the end realize how all
of their stories affect one another. If this project were
done I would be very interested in doing some sort of
work, being experienced with professional digital
video equipment and editing as well as creative
design and cable‐hauling.
I think some of these stories could be turned into
commercials for Starbucks or Folgers. It could be sort
of like that series of commercials Anthony Head did
years ago, only each story would be different, like
ʹStarbucks tale number 10ʹ or something. You could
also print the short story on a table card or napkin
(Starbucks) or on the coffee can/packaging (Folgers).
As a coffee stories movie, it could be an hour long
section of 30 second to 60 second vignettes. It should
be made to look like a coffee shop commercial, but
advertising the people instead. However, you could
get product placement deals with private brand and
independent brand coffee and tea brands to offset the
cost of doing the movie. If released as a streaming
231
COFFEE STORIES
232
IDEAS
IF you were going to make a movie, it would need to
focus on just a few of the storylines that have been
submitted. One romance, one business, one meeting
up with old friend, one meeting that changes your
direction etc. Could work, if set in a single coffee
house that pulls all the strands together. As a title ‐
Cappuccino Stories? Latte Lives?
I have been sitting here with my coffee thinking of a
better title. ʺWith My Coffee...... It just kind of fit. I
just sat here going coffee, coffee.. what would be a
good title to go with the stories you have already. It
just came to light, With my coffee.. this happened,
that happened. Thats my idea for the title. I believe it
would be a good book/movie, put together nicely. I
have been drinking coffee most of my life and get
grief from my kids you drink to much etc...lol Doesnʹt
make me stop drinking it. I love going to a coffee
shop just to relax, watch life pass by, watch the way
people come in and go. So many different
personalities it is just unbelievable how different
each person is. So with that I feel that a movie/book
would be something to see if done with a good
settings, of the different aspects of each, starting with
the basic coffee shop then panning out to the different
lives coffee has touched and how. Good ways, sad
ways, angry ways, coffee fights..lol coffee spills.
anyway running with this in my head. I am not a
writer yet I am told to write. so I am here doing this
and hoping I am answering this correctly. From
233
COFFEE STORIES
what I read in the hit, your basically asking if we feel
the stories already written and put together in the
PDF file would be something to put a movie/book
together. I say Yes, for one thing you can make your
audience experience almost every emotion with
different stories, good/sad/bad/angry/let
downs/marriage/ romance/ I mean the list could go
on, because there are so many things that have been
experienced with a simple cup of Coffee. ohhh how
about this, Tales of a Coffee Cup. Could use a picture
of the inside of a coffee cup being filled with fresh hot
coffee.. then take it from there. As the coffee cup is
emptied then cleaned to begin another cup of coffee
another story. So my coffee story is this, I had fun
with my coffee here while writing/brainstorming
ideaʹs with this hit coming up with a title for some
very interesting coffee stories. Picturing how you
could start the book/movie with just a simple cup of
coffee being poured. Then you would hear the
sounds of people chatting in the back ground, some
ordering a coffee, some typing away on a laptop,
others sitting reading a paper. A mother with her
child, just taking a break from the rush of the day.
Thats my ideaʹs and a couple Ideaʹs for titles while
enjoying my coffee with my fingers doing the talking.
As a graphic designer, sometimes working at home
can get a bit lonely and isolating. My local coffee shop
has been a great remedy for me, as I can take my
laptop with me, and work among people. The
234
IDEAS
235
COFFEE STORIES
236
IDEAS
You could print coasters and distribute them to
coffeeshops/bookstores for them to use and promote
the book. A website and book would be the best way
to go at first, building it to something like postseccret
with print books and a frequently updated website.
There could also be a forum of sorts with people
submitting and voting on stories to compete to be
included in future publications.
I could see this as a movie with a good ensemble cast.
The TV show ʺFriendsʺ had a lot of coffee shop scenes,
but this movie could be along the lines of
ʺCrashʺ...entertwining stories built around people that
get their coffee at a particular shop. How ʹbout ʺJava
Jonesʺ as the title?
I think it would be difficult but with a good director it
could be done. You might have a hit for each scene of
the film. You would want and example or a template
for how to properly format for a film script. I might
write something for a scene.
It would be really neat if you made book with the
stories called, Changing Lives, one coffee shop at a
time. It would also be a cool movie if perhaps it took
the plot line of visiting coffee shops and
ʺinterviewingʺ people, these people then respond that
a coffee shop has indeed changed their lives and go
on tell one of the these stories. Except its like those
237
COFFEE STORIES
movies that when they start telling it, it goes into a
scene acted out. That would be very cute. Could be a
great success as a comedy as well.
Serendipity Serum Iʹd like to be an actress and
screenwriter for this movie.
I am not sure as to how this is to be done, but here
goes. I think a good idea for a coffee shop story would
be about homeschooling. The reason one chooses to
homeschool. The outcome of a graduated
homeschooler and if they would have chosen to go to
public school.
i have finished your task via
http://lifebushido.wikispaces.com/Mturk+HIT+Details
i like the concept of producing a movie as there is lot
of stuff there to put it in.Every guy has itʹs own
story.Rather every person who has written the replies
has some emotional attachment towards the common
ʺcoffee shopʺ so it will be a good idea to have a movie
which is centered around this themeline. Now i will
suggest one name for this kinda work.......MACS
(havenʹt understood it yet?) Meet at coffee shop =
MACS. I would rather play a role in the movie as the
waiter who knows regular clients and their habits and
is an ʺinformation houseʺ for some trusted guys.
238
IDEAS
I think these stories could be worked into an amazing
documentary. You could talk about how the coffee
shop has made up for the lack of traditional
communities in modern society. It has replaced the
fire as the place to initiate courtships, learn from each
other, and obtain sustenance. I would love to be an
actor, screenwriter, or editor. Thanks!
Flavored Life
Title ideas: Coffee Talk, Life is a Coffee House, Meet
Me For Coffee... Coffee Stories could be turned into
blog / social networking site ‐ where people could
actually meet in person through coffee shop networks.
Advertising revenue on the website could be
provided by companies like Starbucks. It could be
turned into a sitcom much like The Office but with
different characters every episode.
The Arabs refined their methods of preparing the
drink over many years. For over 300 years, coffee
drinkers drank the grounds right along with the
boiled water. Then, they began drinking the liquid
alone, leaving the grounds to settle at the bottom of
the cup. As methods for preparing coffee became
more refined, the popularity of the drink spread first
through coffee houses, known as qahveh khaneh, and
then into the home where elaborate ceremonies
became associated with consumption of the drink.
Coffee factoids: • The percolator was invented in
239
COFFEE STORIES
240
IDEAS
241
COFFEE STORIES
am always game for new experiances so let me know
if you need anything.
I think this would be a great little short movie. Little
glips of people or maybe even interviews with the
actual people telling thier story first hand. Or, having
them sit at the place that the vent took place and
make a little video..or reinactments. New Name:
Coffee Shop Moments
Turn these stories into decorations for coffee cups ‐‐
one‐sixth of the story on each cup in a set of 6, one‐
fourth on each of a set of 4, whatever ‐‐ so when you
have coffee with friends, you would have a complete
story among you. Or the same kind of thing, but used
in a coffee shop ‐‐ stories are mixed and matched,
customers mingle with each other to figure out whose
stories are connected and in what order ‐‐ during a
poetry reading or performance night, perhaps.
I think this could make a very interesting book or
movie! The narrator could be the owner of the coffee
shop, or maybe a regular customer, telling some of
the interesting stories theyʹve heard over the years, all
connected to the coffee shop. Or maybe no main
character, just a series of stories about the people in
the shop. This actually sounds like the kind of movie
Iʹd see, and I donʹt see many. Good luck with this!
The Things We Say
242
IDEAS
I have something so exciting to share with you. But
first, I want you to imagine getting those unique
visitors directly to your site. Can you also imagine if
they were targeted visitors? And what if…a % of
those new visitors bought from you… how’s
your life and your business looking now??? Well, it
can actually happen to you. No matter what business
you are in, if you have a website, then you need to
drive traffic to it. Let us show you how. Due to some
fantastic survey results, we’ve discovered that
most people are currently struggling with driving
traffic to their business. You’ ve tried so many
strategies but none give you the long lasting results
you need to make your business successful. So if
you’re doing it tough right now or just need to
improve your results, don’t despair, let us guide
you, step by step, through the confusing myriad of
traffic driving strategies – and show you the most
productive tactics to get visitors to your site – right
now.
Java Jolts, Java Time
Yes, I think it would be an interesting flick, maybe
something similar to Smoke. I guess Iʹd rather be an
actress in a small role, perhaps. I donʹt think Coffee
Stories is so great, but Steamy Tales sounds like a
porn flick. LOL
243
COFFEE STORIES
244
IDEAS
245
COFFEE STORIES
246
IDEAS
Mturk are not SAG actors or youʹll need a SAG Indie
contract. This movie idea would be very easy to
market and would get press for being the first online
collective film project. Publishing a book after the
movie is made can be a great way to expose viewers
to more serendipitous scenarios. A website that
would allow users to post their own experiences can
be created before the movie is released to create buzz
for the project. I have a B.S. in Film and Television
from Boston University and would be interested in
editing the completed project if you choose to make it
into a film. I live in Los Angeles, but we could swap
files online or through the mail. I have screenwriting,
directing and cinematography experience as well. As
far as a title for this project, I was playing around
ʺCoincidental Coffeeʺ because everything happened
by chance in the stories. I wonder if Amazon would
feature the film since it would be created using Mturk?
I think it would be a great book. If it was in the format
of the Chicken Soup books. It could be an uplifting
book about life. I think it would be interesting. A
website might be interesting too but for marketing
and to make money from it I would go with the book.
The site would be interesting in a blog format. The
movie, not too sure about that one. I dont think I
would watch it. Maybe if it were like a documentary
with the actual people or on a Dateline study?!?! I
would be interested in marketing the movie or doing
research about the people who were actually giving
247
COFFEE STORIES
the stories. Name?!? Hmmm....Coffee House Stories‐
‐‐‐‐‐ʺMaybe we can meet for a cup of coffee?ʺ
Yes, I definitely think there is a movie here. Since the
topic is coffee, I think there should be a parallel to the
history of coffee itself. For example, we see the story
of 2 people who meet casually in a coffee shop. But
those scenes are cut with the story of 2 people who
work in the coffee trade hundreds of years ago. Did
you know that the story of coffee has been recorded
for hundreds of years? At first, the lives of the people
today (in the coffee shop) might seem completely
different from the lives of the people in the past. But
as the movie progresses we see that there are more
similarities than we first imagined, proving that
humans from completely different times and places
still have much in common‐‐ love, laughter,
sorrow....all the things that make us who we are! And,
since you asked about it in the description of the HIT,
yes I have always loved the idea of being a
screenwriter (or even a director?). I write short stories
in my free time and I have a pretty wild imagination. :)
This sound like great fun. I started drinking coffee in
college to stay awake while I was studying and grew
to love a good ʺcup of joeʺ. My cousin and I lived
together in college, and on most Satruday mornings,
we lay around the place reading Louis Lamour
Westerns and drinking really strong Cajun coffee (it
has chicory added). After a few months, we both
248
IDEAS
began to notice a reapeating ʺcoffee motifʺ that Louis
Lamour used in his westerns. The hero of the story,
several times in each book, would be getting ready to
start the day or on a break and Louis would write (in
first person narrative) ʺThe coffe was goodʺ, or ʺThe
coffe was hotʺ, or strong, or weak. Well, my cuz
and I thought that was great, here we were both
laying around drinkning coffee and reading westerns
about cowboys drinking coffee. We began to
highlight every time the coffee motiff appeared, and
it became an ʺinside jokeʺ. My suggestion for the
name of a coffe movie would be ʺThe coffee was
goodʺ. And there should be numerous brief cutaways
to people (cowboys?) saying in very serious tones,
ʺThe coffee was goodʺ. I envision a documentary
format like studs terkle or michael moore. Anyway,
thatʹs my two cents worth. Except that the beginning
or ending song would have to be the ʺJava and Meʺ
song. I think it was the Inkspots that did it originally.
Maybe some movie sceens with famous people
drinking coffee. Heck, this has been so much fun you
donʹt even have o pay me if you donʹt want.
With the economy and the publishing industry the
way it is, this may not work as a book. Perhaps as a
profitable blog or website or e‐book this can find a
place. My two bits. I am a free lance creative writer.
How about an ebook? just like we can download a
pdf of sample pages, and ebook would pull in alot of
249
COFFEE STORIES
us people in the digital age, and you can even
advertise it on mturk! Amazon might want to sell the
book as well. Iʹd love to help format/edit/ whatever
you need help with. Good luck!
Hi,I would suggest making a website is best option at
hand,considering the niche of this topic,and the
website can be turned in to business by inviting
different coffee shops to give their offers and Adʹs.It
serves win‐win situation,since the website users are
target customers for these coffee shops,helping their
business,and the website users get interesting offers
and goodie bags from these coffee shop owners. The
idea is to make this amazing idea as interactive and
lively as possible,to keep the charm going. Creating a
book or a movie,is not a bad idea but it will be one
time occurrence,once made and read or watched,its
over.... The idea like this should live long,may be
introduce a face book application on sharing coffee
stories,once the website is hit,it will get together all
like minded people,which can be used for a potential
business,interaction and fun. About the movie,yes it
is surely possible,all we need is a creative writer who
could present it in a right way. Title Suggestion:
Coffee Blends [you might figure out what i mean,but
still to specify,coffee blends people,relations smiles
etc,its part of our daily life and often under
credited,but this movie or website will show people
how important it is and how it blends in our life....
Cheers, Wish
250
IDEAS
the Title should be: ʺTales of Energy Boostingʺ Why i
select this titles 1. word Tales display ancient contrast
and show real spirit of our contents. Which are based
on stories. 2. energy Boosting not on a quality/effect of
Coffee. But also have impression of modernity. If you
wish i have some more Ideas for Coffee
Advertisement. Thanks Regards Muhammad Asif
Hi, I have read the 10 page PDF. Marketing Ideas for
Coffee Stories: Create videos related to coffee stories
to be posted on youtube to test the popularity of
Coffee stories. After that, you can decide whether to
make another version of short movie of ʺCoffee
Storiesʺ to be posted on a website for free or paid
view. Further increase the number of pages of ʺCoffee
Storiesʺ pdf file so that you can sell it as e‐book on
website such as Clickbank. Advertise the e‐book or
video through Google Adwords or other programs.
Post the coffee stories on newspaper to gain publicity.
Advertise on story or movie related forums.
Rose Coffe We don’t even have a title yet beyond
the working title, but here’s a sneak preview of
the introduction. Obviously, by the time this hits
shelves, it may be different, so consider this a beta test
of sorts. Let’s try an experiment in marketing.
Read this paragraph, then close your eyes and try to
remember it word for word. “Marketing is the
activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,
251
COFFEE STORIES
communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings
that have value for customers, clients, partners, and
society at large. (Approved October 2007)†‐
American Marketing Association How did you do?
We failed right around the word institutions because
we stopped caring. For the premier marketing
association in America, their definition of marketing
needs some… well, marketing. Let’s try this
again. Read this paragraph, then close your eyes and
try to remember it word for word. Marketing is the
sharing of ideas. ‐ Marketing Over Coffee Did you do
better? This is a book not about ideas, but about the
sharing of ideas. Your ideas. Your company’s
ideas. Your customers’ ideas. This is a book about
ways your ideas will or won’t spread, and ways
to make the former more likely than the latter. Above
all else, this is a book that will help you be a better
marketer. Sit back, relax, pour yourself an extra large
regular with 9 Sweet & Low, and let’s talk some
marketing. The Marketing Continuum Every large
company seems to have an org chart that looks
roughly the same. Advertising. PR. Sales. Marketing.
Customer service (outsourced). Business
Development. Every large company has these
departments, and by and large, the departments hate
each other. “Sales can’t make its numbers
because our ads stink!†“Customer service is
swamped because Sales promised the customer
something that doesn’t exist!†“Marketing
wants to kill everyone in customer service for creating
252
IDEAS
that mess with a bunch of bloggers who are spewing
venom about us on the Internet!†Sound familiar?
The reason this happens is simple: everyone’s
doing the same job, but they just don’t know it.
All of these professions ‐ marketing, advertising, sales,
customer service, PR, biz dev ‐ are the same
profession. We break them up into pieces because no
one human being is scalable enough to do every job at
a large company, but the fundamental job is the same:
Communicate skillfully. Marketing, advertising, and
PR all communicate to the outside world, to people
who don’t know about our ideas yet, or who
know about our ideas but don’t believe in them or
in us. Marketing is the sharing of ideas. Sales &
business development communicate to people
interested in our ideas and try to convince those
people to become stakeholders in our ideas. Sales is
the conversion of ideas into actions. Customer service
communicate to the people who already own our
ideas and help make those ideas work better for the
people, or at the very least fix broken ideas. All of
these forms exist on a smooth continuum with the
customer. We break it up for job purposes, but really,
who can say what the exact point is when marketing
becomes sales? Who can say when the prospect
finally convinces himself or herself that they want to
partake of your idea? It might be face to face with a
salesperson, sure. It might also be at 2 AM while
they’re watching the late night special, and your
brand finally makes that one impression that puts you
253
COFFEE STORIES
254
IDEAS
creamer, tiny coffee spoons If in a dinner theatre, seat
people according to types of coffee‐‐‐ double
chocolate expresso; Iced blended mocha, chai latte, etc.
I would not mind acting, serving or even better
writing...
The way I see this working as a movie would have to
loosely adapt or modify these stories to fit into an
overarching plot that would involve the intersection
of many charactersʹ lives at a neighborhood
coffeeshop. Iʹm picturing something like Amelie, only
more about the coffeeshop rather than exclusively
about one character. The way you could turn this into
a business would be some sort of interactive
storytelling message board within an actual
coffeeshop itself. In college, the librarians put up
giant dry erase boards next to the bathrooms to
discourage us from writing on the walls of the stalls.
I donʹt know if it stopped that, but plenty of people
markered messages all over the place on the dry erase
boards. It created a fun sort of community feeling,
reading the funny or sometimes serious messages
from others, and sometimes contributing to the
discussion, as you walked by. Iʹve also seen a kind of
paint that dries into a chalkboard‐‐another useful way
to create an anonymous community storyboard. Iʹve
seen great results when restaurants do something
similar. Maybe even just posting such a board with a
tag like ʺTell a short story about yourself and this
255
COFFEE STORIES
256
IDEAS
I am a frequent visitor at the Barista and i love to
spend hours there drinking cups of coffee. one day
my mind saw a guy working on a laptop with utmost
concentration, I approached him and asked what was
he doing. then, he told me about this great
opportunity to earn money on mturk.com Till today I
thank the person as he had given me a really nice
platform to earn money while working from home.
Do this as a viral Youtube Movie. Post small portions
of script for creators to use. Setup dropbox for users
to submit videos (as well as their posts to Youtube) so
you can edit video together into short film. Give users
specifications for video size/format. Create Twitter
for Coffee_Stories and hashtag #coffeestories to get
word out. Create a Coffee Stories fanpage on
Facebook and possibly Facebook application ‐perhaps
something simple such as a quiz ʺWhat Coffee Story
are you?ʺ or send a Coffee Story to a friend/collect
Coffee Stories. Start a Coffee Stories friendfeed.
Would make an interesting Book. Lots of people have
these stories. A good name would be ʺGreat with
Coffeeʺ or ʺMorning Coffee All Day Longʺ
A marketing strategy that keeps on giving! A) web
comic / graphic novel project 1‐ Start with a web
comic, which could be distributed digitally via mobile
and online. (potential to reach millions) Leverage
257
COFFEE STORIES
258
IDEAS
book could be built into a series, thus creating a brand
and a business....website would ensue. I saw a Hit for
making a website based on a subset of
lifebushido...this may be exactly what I submit. Hope
you like and this helps. And yes, I would love to be
involved in any facet of this process. I didnʹt get to do
the Man or Woman HIT, but Iʹm a man and would
love to help write, produce, or act in this project.
Instead of a movie, why not a series of short subjects
that can be played before a full‐length feature and/or
set up as a web series? Some of the stories could also
be the basis for a short movie by themselves. A book
is nice, but you canʹt add to it. Being able to comment
would be fun.
Oh what a wonderful list of stories! I can only think
of one thing that these stories would be good for and
that is definitely a movie. I envision a movie in which
an ʺenchantedʺ (it really isnʹt, which would be proven
in the end, but thatʹs what people start to think when
they hear some of these stories) coffee shop changes
lives‐‐love, success, friendship, life‐saving changes‐‐
all could be part of this movie. A happy movie, one
that lifts the spirits of everyone who watches it, which
is just what the world needs right now with all the
economic woes and war going on. And as an added
interest catcher, there would be a link between a lot of
these people‐‐the elderly lady who finds a winning
lottery ticket finds out it was lost by her long lost
259
COFFEE STORIES
260
IDEAS
261
COFFEE STORIES
know it existed a business woman that practiced law
and all she knew was what was right and what was
the law. This would be a good movie If it had more
added to it. ID like to edit that would be fun. Instead
of Coffee Stories may be ʺLaw Stricken Loveʺ coffee
has nothing to do with it.
Please please please if you do a movie it should start
off with the Squeeze song ʺBlack Coffee in Bed. I just
have visions of this guy knocking his coffee off of his
end table onto his beautiful white bed while running
around his apartment trying to get ready for work.
Perhaps he was late due to his late night coffee date.
Lol....I just think that song would be the perfect start
to your coffee movie.
title of the book:‐‐ coffee memoir title of the movie:‐‐
coffee bite website:‐‐
http://www.remembercoffee.com
I would love to be an actor (I am a theater major) in
this movie, and yes i think it should be a crowd
sourced movie, tons of people shooting at various
coffeehouses around the world. The trick would be to
keep people interested. There needs to be some sort of
overarching story to it. I think that some of the stories
from the book should be made into bigger stories that
have scenes throughout the movie, while most of the
stories should just happen in one scene or two. Which
stories these would be would largely deepened on
262
IDEAS
263
COFFEE STORIES
stories. There is a lot of substance here, and the real
decision is whether to develop a couple of the stories
intensively, or find a format that embraces all of them
extensively. All these things being said, hereʹs what
little‐old‐me would make of it all ‐‐ Thereʹs one word
that always comes up around coffee, and that word is:
ʺregular.ʺ ʺRegularʺ refers to the patrons, the size cup,
whether thereʹs cream or sugar, or two of these and
another of that. MY ʺregularʺ is not necessarily
YOUR ʺregular.ʺ Maybe this shop is my ʺregular,ʺ
maybe Iʹm from out of town. The attention grabber in
your collection is the idea that Spielberg came up
with the film E.T. in a coffee shop. Is that true? It is
also widely told that JK Rowlingʹs work on Harry
Potter often took place in a coffee shop. Are these
tales of famous people imagining famous things true?
In some sense, these are stories of regular people
dreaming magical dreams. So a possible book or
movie plot is to make a creative person ‐‐ a Rowling
or Spielberg type ‐‐ the main character. And that
character is creating their masterpiece as he or she sits
a drinks their coffee. all around them, everyone else
is in ad out with their own lives turning to magic in
the coffee shop moments. A second possibility is
really fascinating to me: A main character ‐‐ or group
of them ‐‐ sets out to travel the country (or the world).
Every place he/she or they go, they visit the local
coffee shops. Maybe the travels are simply for the
point of visiting coffeeshops. Or maybe this is a
traveling group that only happens to like coffeeshops
264
IDEAS
265
COFFEE STORIES
266
IDEAS
267
RESOURCES
RESOURCES
STEVE KANTOR BIOGRAPHY
Steve Kantor is an entrepreneur involved with
multiple ventures to help people focus on their
unique talents. Steve founded, grew, and sold
Gnossos Software from 1986‐2004, took a
sabbatical year to recharge in 2005, and started
new ventures in 2006.
Born in San Diego, California, Steve graduated
from Harvard University and then from John
Hopkins SAIS with MA in International Relations
and Global Theory. Steve is a world traveler and
spent 1985‐1986 Backpacking around the world.
He has been to over 75 countries and is a strong
believer in the value of diversity of backgrounds.
Steve is married to Aileen Kantor and is the father
of three daughters and lives in Bethesda, MD.
Based on their daughters starting the charitable
effort of Project Backpack in September 2005 for
the kids of Katrina, the family effort led to over
100 cities collecting and delivering over 50,000
backpacks to kids of Katrina in less than 100 days.
In 2006, Steve started Lifebushido LLC which is a
number of ventures. These include the following:
COFFEE STORIES
272
RESOURCES
home with flexible hours using their
unique talents, with special focus on stay‐
at‐home moms. See www.lifebushido.com.